In this lesson, students will begin to explore the potential and challenges related to using photovoltaics to supplement the power needed to charge batteries in BEVs. Students will test a variety of wiring options related to series and parallel wiring. Once students have grasped the basics, they will measure the surface area of a passenger vehicle and calculate the approximate power that could be produced by integrated PV modules into the structure of the vehicle. Students will use these calculations to determine each of the following:

• The added mileage between plug-in charges that could be achieved.
• The amount of time required to charge the vehicle using only the PV modules within the structure of the car.
• The PV array size required to match the charge time boasted by Tesla Supercharger Stations.

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Kawneer facility in Bloomsburg, PA. Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit (CSIU) hosted a “Solar Energy Inquiry and Engineering” workshop for 6^th– 12^th grade teachers from area school districts. CSIU, alongside numerous others throughout the state, acts as an educational resource provider for schools in this region.  The IU was responsible for reaching out to local districts, having each district nominate a few teachers that they would like to send to the training.  Solar 4R Schools also facilitated this using a remote meeting delivered to the district science leaders in January 2017 to present an outline of the workshop content.  In total, 14 teachers came to the workshop from 9 different districts, with the expected reach of 1,975 students.  Solar 4R Schools conducted this workshop in partnership with ASSET STEM Education. ASSET STEM Education is a national education improvement nonprofit founded in 1994 by the Bayer Corporation and a coalition of community partners.

Teachers spent the day at CSIU’s Conference and Learning Center.  Throughout the day, teachers explored energy-related content areas using hands-on investigations with tools such as solar circuits, solar cars, and solar ovens.  These educators engaged in productive struggle to determine where this content would be most useful in the content they deliver in order to build STEM literacy amongst their students.

Arconic Foundation is proud to support Solar 4R Schools and bring this innovative program to Arconic communities nationwide. Arconic Foundation’s mission is to support non-profit partners who advance STEM Education, Workforce Development and Environmental Sustainability in Arconic communities. We view support for K-12 STEM programs as critical to shaping the workforce of the future – the economic future of our communities and the advanced manufacturing industry depends on it. By investing early in impactful STEM curricula, we can spark the imagination of our youth and set them on a path that encourages creativity and innovation – the very skills that make Arconic and other advanced manufacturers successful. Solar 4R Schools is a proven and innovative model that we believe can bring to life the issues and solutions around energy management. Energy is a critical component of what we do in industry and in all of our personal lives – it is a topic that we want our youth educated about so that they can solve the problems of tomorrow.

General Motors Foundation supported career-connected STEM professional development for Detroit Public Schools Community District teachers linked to real-world deployment of a 516 kW solar array by DTE Energy that was installed on GM’s Hamtramck facility. 

Solar 4R Schools worked with the Detroit Public Schools Community District's Children's Museum to put on a day-long Renewable Energy Teacher Workshop for high school teachers in late February 2017. Throughout the day, teachers explored energy-related content areas using hands-on investigations with tools such as solar circuits, solar cars, and solar ovens.  Educators engaged in productive struggle to determine where this content would be most useful in the content they deliver in order to build STEM literacy amongst their students. 

Cindy Hecht from DTE Energy also joined us and presented to teachers about DTE's energy resources, renewable energy projects, and the growing opportunities in energy jobs at DTE and the programs that support students on their search for the ideal career path. DTE's solar array installed on the GM Facility in Hamtramck was featured as one of many local examples of renewable energy resources deployed locally. 

As a direct result of General Motors Foundation's support, $12,000 worth of science kit materials was provided to the Detroit Public Schools Mathematics and Science Center to be made available use for all students in the District. Participating teachers had the opportunity to test out the very materials that students can use to experiment with wind and solar energy, build circuits and solar machines, and collect energy and irradiance data for analysis in the classroom. Seventeen 8th-12th grade teachers participated the workshop, and anticipate reaching over 550 students in the first year with these new materials and renewable energy content.

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators that teach students in districts surrounding their facilities in Davenport, IA. Pleasant Valley Administration Center hosted the Regional Renewable Energy Inquiry and Engineering professional development day to learn more about about local technical and energy-related jobs through hands-on activities by Solar 4R Schools and engaging local presentations from representatives at Arconic and MidAmerican Energy. Teachers modeled MidAmerican’s vision of a future with a 100% renewable energy grid by building and testing solar and wind circuits.
 

Teachers were excited to receive the very science materials used throughout the day for their students for a total of $12,000 worth of science kits provided to classrooms across 4 districts. Fifteen participating teachers from these schools anticipate that they will engage more than 2,100 students over the next year with renewable energy science and engineering content and activities.

Arconic Foundation is proud to support Solar 4R Schools and bring this innovative program to Arconic communities nationwide. Arconic Foundation’s mission is to support non-profit partners who advance STEM Education, Workforce Development and Environmental Sustainability in Arconic communities. We view support for K-12 STEM programs as critical to shaping the workforce of the future – the economic future of our communities and the advanced manufacturing industry depends on it. By investing early in impactful STEM curricula, we can spark the imagination of our youth and set them on a path that encourages creativity and innovation – the very skills that make Arconic and other advanced manufacturers successful. Solar 4R Schools is a proven and innovative model that we believe can bring to life the issues and solutions around energy management. Energy is a critical component of what we do in industry and in all of our personal lives – it is a topic that we want our youth educated about so that they can solve the problems of tomorrow.

With generous support from the Boeing Foundation, Solar 4R Schools piloted our first solar car engineering challenge event in 2014. The event leveraged contributions from the Seattle Mariners and Bonneville Power Administration while utilizing the iconic influence of professional sports to create a powerful impact on the 14 student teams that participated. As a precursor to the challenge event, Solar 4R Schools provided solar energy content training and durable science kit materials to 55 teachers from Pierce, Snohomish, and King Counties in Washington. Over 150 participated in the solar car engineering challenge event and watched the student teams compete for renewable energy - themed prizes. In total, over 1600 students in the area were engaged in new renewable energy lessons and the engineering challenge event. In addition, five of the participating schools held their own solar car challenges at their schools in preparation for the big event. 

Zenger Farm’s photovoltaic (PV) system was installed in summer of 2017. A collaboration between the Rainier School District, Columbia River PUD, and Bonneville Power Administration, this 6-kilowatt PV installation demonstrates the practicality of photovoltaics while providing additional learning opportunities for vistors of the District. In addition to building a dedicated community of renewable energy educators, Solar 4R Schools has transformed the school's existing PV system into a hands-on classroom tool. Energy monitoring at the school allows students and educators to chart, graph and analyze the system's performance data for educational purposes. Educators within received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the District's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website.

In 2015, 18 educators from 8 different school districts convened for a “Solar Energy and Opportunities for Inquiry in My Classroom” workshop. The workshop was held at Everett Public School District Community Center. Teachers worked together on activities that included making a Copenhagen solar oven, building simple circuits, and putting together solar cars. Along with the renewable energy workshop, teachers received custom science kits and access to the online educator library to implement in their classrooms. 

On October 10, 2016 the Oregon Coastal STEM Hub hosted the 2016 Coastal Learning Symposium at Newport Middle School with a goal to make meaningful connections to the Oregon Coast for PK- 12 educators and students. The Solar 4R Schools program offered a Renewable Energy Inquiry and Engineering workshop to area teachers. There were a total of 22 attendees from 3 different school districts present. Participants at the workshop engaged with a variety of activities; including the construction of a Copenhagen solar oven, exploring electric circuits, and crafting solar boats. Every teacher received a classroom science kit worth $150 and access to resources from the online educator library. 

Through a series of goal-oriented activities and research, students will build physical models that demonstrate the interactions between magnetism and magnetic fields as well as interactions between magnetism and electric fields. Students will be challenged to engineer devices that: change a magnetic field using electricity, creating a magnet using electricity, and inducing a changing magnetic field using a magnet. This lesson is suitable as an introduction to electromagnetism for various purposes especially for electricity generation (wave and tidal power, hydropower, wind power, and fossil fuel electricity generation).

This lesson is designed to build upon investigations of electromagnetic energy by applying these phenomena to transfer the kinetic energy moving in waves to electricity by building a wave attenuator.

Students will test the efficiency of the tidal wave attenuator models that they previously built. They will determine variables on their models they can manipulate, such as wire gauge and magnet strength, and measure the effects of manipulating this variable on the success of their design. They will report their findings in a presentation to the class.

Through a series of learning experiences, students will experiment with the basic concepts of motion to electrical energy transformation. Students start by building a series of models that demonstrate the interactions between magnetic and electric fields. Students then apply this background knowledge to convert ocean wave power into electricity. Finally, students design and conduct their own experiments to optimize a design solution for wave energy conversion using a wave attenuator.

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Arconic facilities in Winsted, CT in September 2017. Thirteen educators from four different school districts met at The Gilbert School to engage in a training focusing on renewable energy education. Representatives from Arconic Power & Propulsion, CREC (Capitol Region Education Council), and Eversource Energy were present to participate in the training and share information about energy-related careers and local energy resources. This effort was part of Arconic Foundation’s pursuit in addressing the opportunity gap for student achievement and career readiness in underserved communities by providing teachers with science kit materials and positive professional development experiences. During the workshop teachers, engaged in three hands-on activities focused on energy transformations, photovoltaic circuits, and electromagnetic induction. The workshop provided a collaborative space for teachers, as the many school districts end up serving the same students as they transition between schools based on their grade or career path.

 

Arconic Foundation is proud to support CE and bring this innovative program to Arconic communities nationwide. Arconic Foundation’s mission is to support non-profit partners who advance STEM Education, Workforce Development and Environmental Sustainability in Arconic communities. We view support for K-12 STEM programs as critical to shaping the workforce of the future – the economic future of our communities and the advanced manufacturing industry depends on it. By investing early in impactful STEM curricula, we can spark the imagination of our youth and set them on a path that encourages creativity and innovation – the very skills that make Arconic and other advanced manufacturers successful. CE is a proven and innovative model that we believe can bring to life the issues and solutions around energy management. Energy is a critical component of what we do in industry and in all of our personal lives – it is a topic that we want our youth educated about so that they can solve the problems of tomorrow.

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Arconic facilities in Canton, OH in October 2017. Twenty-four educators from 12 school districts all came together at the R. G. Drage Career Technical Center in Massillon, OH to engage in a renewable energy educator workshop. The subjects taught by teachers at this training crossed many disciplines, including: science, robotics, social studies, math, agriculture, ELA, and natural resources. Participants were excited to engage in the topic of renewable energy and wanted to gain strategies to integrate STEM and energy as crosscutting concepts and enhance student perspective. During the workshop teachers engaged in three hands-on activities focused on energy transformations, photovoltaic circuits, and wind energy.

Arconic Foundation is proud to support CE and bring this innovative program to Arconic communities nationwide. Arconic Foundation’s mission is to support non-profit partners who advance STEM Education, Workforce Development and Environmental Sustainability in Arconic communities. We view support for K-12 STEM programs as critical to shaping the workforce of the future – the economic future of our communities and the advanced manufacturing industry depends on it. By investing early in impactful STEM curricula, we can spark the imagination of our youth and set them on a path that encourages creativity and innovation – the very skills that make Arconic and other advanced manufacturers successful. CE is a proven and innovative model that we believe can bring to life the issues and solutions around energy management. Energy is a critical component of what we do in industry and in all of our personal lives – it is a topic that we want our youth educated about so that they can solve the problems of tomorrow.

Polk County Renewable Leaders links teachers, students and a local utility-scale solar array through a series teacher professional development (PD) workshops designed to augment environmental science, STEM and CTE programs with renewable energy content, science kits & leadership support over a three-year period. Teacher leaders were selected by Districts and participated in renewable energy workshops, curriculum development and leadership skills training labs. The teacher leaders will in turn provide additional support and serve as leaders in this new content area in their districts.

The origin of the project began with the installation of the Steel Bridge Solar Project, a highly visible 2.4 MW array located in Willamina along Highway 18.  OneEnergy, the developer for the project, allocated funds to leverage this project for educational purposes, with match funds provided by BEF. OneEnergy Renewables is developing utility-scale solar projects in the Oregon and across the nation. OneEnergy fully funded the Polk County Renewable Energy Inquiry and Engineering Training workshop through a grant to the CE program. OneEnergy actively supports local renewable energy educational programs and the advancement of future renewable energy leaders. In 2017, Gray Family Foundation also provided grant funds to add a teacher leadership component to the project and allow for small-group professional development with a group of core teachers.

During the regional workshop, teachers engaged in various hands-on projects in order to acquaint themselves with the contents of their science kits and model strategies for teaching renewable energy and grid related concepts aligned with Next Generation Science Standards. Teachers constructed solar ovens, engaged in circuitry challenges exploring electricity phenomena and grid dynamics, and built solar cars over the course of a 7-hour-long training.  Particular attention was devoted to career connection discussions, as teachers noted a strong interest in exposing their students to new career pathways at the beginning of the workshop. From this day together, five teacher leaders emerged to continue working with the CE team to develop district-wide and regional curriculum in smaller labs moving forward.

The teacher leaders developed and began designing the roll out of rigorous renewable energy curriculum across their respective Districts. The group meetings consisted of a Curriculum Lab, focusing on district needs and activity brainstorming, and a Leadership Lab, focusing on moving forward and strategies to bring materials to the hands of their local teachers. Work will continue on the project into 2018 and 2019 as the teacher leaders begin to train their colleagues and rollout new curricula and activities for students.

Feature image photo courtesy of Erin Berzel Photography.

OneEnergy Renewables completed a total of 4 MW of solar Euwana I & II Solar projects in Klamath Falls, Oregon.  In association with this utility-scale solar development project, installation, OneEnergy provided funding to BEF to help local schools leverage the project as a place-based learning tool for students in the area. Many of the Klamath County School District schools are within close proximity to the Euwana I & II Solar project sites.

In April of 2016, CE provided a regional workshop at Mazama High School for 14 teachers from 8 different schools in Klamath County.  These teachers worked on the construction of solar ovens, built and took data on various types of solar circuits, and practiced using the engineering design cycle in an investigation of solar car design.  These hands-on experiences were selected in collaboration with district leadership and differentiated between the large range of grade levels present.  A science kit valued at $3,500 was provided to the District as part of this workshop, with classroom materials aligned with workshop activities in order to provide hands-on training for teachers using the supplies throughout the day.  This science kit is currently housed at Mazama High School and managed by teacher leaders in conjunction with Klamath County School District to provide access to materials and renewable energy lessons District-wide.

Feature images courtesy of Samantha Tipler, Klamath County School District.

Completed in 2018, this 172.5 kW roof top solar photovoltaic system generates an estimated 190,000 kWh of clean, renewable energy each year. a total of 500 panels provide the equivalent to powering about 15 average US homes per year. Beaverton School District is committed to sustainability, renewable energy, and resource conservation education for our students, staff, and community. See live production data for real time solar generation.