The 4th grade students at Killip Elementary School have been studying alternative energy systems to determine what energy source would be the best for their school and neighborhood. The three teachers (Mrs.’s Hansen, Hart, and Taylor) have over 90 energetic students participating in this unit! Note that they will soon have a fourth teacher to reduce class sizes. Three Flagstaff STEM Professionals presented three 25-minute sessions to the classes. Kelly Paduchowski from Prometheus SOLAR brought in a large solar panel, and talked to the students about the great solar energy potential in Arizona. Kelly is a Project Manager at Promethus Solar. She is also a certified photovoltaic installation professional. Kelly has been highlighted in a previous post when she represented Prometheus at Willow Bend Environmental Education Center. Ken Kotalik from Primus Wind Power brought in a wind turbine and talked to the students about having both gride-tied wind power and also off-the-grid wind systems that could also include solar panels. Ken is the Director of North American Sales, for Primus Wind Power. He has been working in and around the renewable energy field for 15 years and he built his own passive and active solar straw bale house in Flagstaff. Lucas Bair, from the Grand Canyon Research and Monitoring Center of the US Geological Survey, showed a video on hydropower and illustrated to students how a dam works to generate electric power. Lucas is an environmental and natural resource economist with expertise in water resource and energy economics and policy. His research includes natural resource valuation and decision and benefit-cost analysis with a focus on resources in Glen and Grand Canyons along with large river systems such as the Sacramento-San Joaquin and the Brazilian Amazon. STEM City and Killip Elementary School thank you for your educational and engaging presentations to the students! Stay tuned, as the students are now finalizing their reports on which of these three alternative energy sources should be used to power their school and neighborhood!
2 Comments
Guest Blog by Karin Wadsack, Project Director, Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University’s Dynamic and Active Systems Lab (DASL) in the department of mechanical engineering partnered with the NAU Upward Bound summer program to engage high school students in university research on energy harvesting and the development of drone technology. Twenty-one high school soon-to-be juniors, from across Northern Arizona, tested solar panels, built electrical circuits, and participated in a “wildlife-tracking hide-and-seek” exercise using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The students spent five weeks on campus at NAU learning about climate change and energy science and engineering. They performed hands-on activities and experiments, and went on a ‘field trip’ to the Engineering building to perform outdoor activities with the UAVs. “These experiences were invaluable for our UB students,” said Jacob Lesandrini, an instructional specialist with the Upward Bound Program. “They were pushed to understand the science behind energy, energy consumption, and the future of energy use in the country.” DASL faculty advisor Dr. Michael Shafer and students Gregory Hahn, Heather Cantin, Lauren Adoram-Kershner, Kellan Rothfus, and Matthew Robertson worked with the high school students over the course of several lessons and activities. DASL is currently engaged in two National Science Foundation grants: one to develop and test energy harvesting technologies for use on marine mammals tracking tags, and one to develop and deploy an open-source design for unmanned aerial vehicles to be used in tracking wildlife transmitter signals for ecological research.
Guest Blog by Karin Wadsack, Project Director, Northern Arizona University The Arizona Wind for Schools project partnered with the NAU’s Upward Bound programs and the Boys & Girls Club summer camp at Willow Bend in June to teach 48 young students about wind energy through hands-on engineering design activities.
Fourteen students in the Upward Bound Math/Science academy also worked with Wind for Schools to build windmills and learn basics about wind energy. In particular, while researching and analyzing various forms of renewable energy, students had the opportunity to move away from the theoretical and put their knowledge to work. Students were given a task, a collection of materials from which to build, and work time. “It was a powerful experience seeing students working together, going through iterations in their design, and completing the assigned task,” said Jacob Lesandrini, instructional specialist for Upward Bound at NAU. “Students not only had to have the background knowledge in renewable energy, but they also had to understand how to tackle a problem and work in a team. It’s exactly the sort of work they can expect in college and beyond, and we were very excited they had this opportunity.“ Wind for Schools project director Karin Wadsack and mechanical engineering undergraduate student Tessa Palazzolo worked with the high school students over the course of several lessons and activities.
The Wind for Schools project is funded by a grant from the United States Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
|