This project funded by

Evansville, IN - Educators' Workshop

Grade Level:
6-8
Location:
Evansville, IN
About the School:

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Arconic facilities in Evansville, Indiana in Spring 2016. Solar 4R Schools partnered with I-STEM and the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation (EVSC) to bring this workshop in May of 2016 to schools lacking access to some of the curricular materials available to many schools throughout Indiana.

Thirteen middle school teachers from four EVSC schools spent the day collaborating, planning, and building solar cars to help people “survive a zombie apocalypse.” The materials, curriculum and science kits from this workshop are expected to reach 1,424 students by May of 2017. Teachers learned two important engineering design for their solar cars: “bigger and more aren’t always better" and “Mass increases the force of friction keeping the cars from moving – this is why we design our cars to be lightweight!”

Arconic Foundation is proud to support Solar 4R Schools and bring this innovative program to Arconic communities nationwide. The mission of the Arconic Foundation is to advance science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and skills training worldwide, with a special emphasis on engaging and creating access for underrepresented and underserved groups. Through our partnerships, we are helping to change the perception of manufacturing by creating excitement around the rewarding career opportunities available to the next generation of talent – from career and technical education to the most advanced robotics and digital manufacturing. 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.