Compost Bioreactor Design

Compost Heater
Average Rating:
0
Intended Grade Level(s):
7-12
Subject Area(s) Covered:
Energy Transfer 101
Physical science
Energy Fundamentals
Sustainable energy
Solar/Renewable energy
Estimated Activity Length:
2 hours
Learning Goal(s):

1. Students will research the science of composting and proper maintenance methods to build their own bioreactor. 2. Students will research the proper composition of compost for maximum heat production. 3. Students will transfer the thermal energy in compost to a container of water heat water with by placing a vessel in the middle of the active compost/bioreactor.

Solar energy is available when the sun shines but energy can be supplemented at night by the release of energy during the composting of organic waste. In this activity, we will experiment with the feasibility of harnessing thermal energy to heat water with a bioreactor. Students will experiment with using compost buckets as bioreactors, first... View full description >>

Passive Solar Water Heating

Solar Thermal Jug
Average Rating:
0
Intended Grade Level(s):
6-12
Subject Area(s) Covered:
Passive Solar 101
Physical science
Energy Fundamentals
Sustainable energy
renewable energy
Estimated Activity Length:
2 hours
Learning Goal(s):

1. Students will cover/manipulate milk jugs to achieve the most solar energy absorption. 2. Students will calculate the joules of energy absorbed by the solar heated water. 3. Students will measure and graph the temperature changes of their solar milk jugs. 4. Students will gain an understanding of the amount of energy in sunlight.

Relevant Common Core Standard(s):

Students retrofit milk jugs to absorb and retain the most solar energy. This process involves students collecting data that measures the impacts of different variables on the solar energy absorbed by each collection device. Students should be able to see patterns in both the absorption and retention of heat by various types of designs. During... View full description >>

Illuminate Me: Merging Conductive Sewing, Technology, and Solar Power

Arduino Angler Design
Average Rating:
0
Intended Grade Level(s):
7-12
Subject Area(s) Covered:
electricity
electronics
Conductive Thread
solar energy
Wearable technologies
Programming
Arduino
Battery charging
Estimated Activity Length:
10 hours
Learning Goal(s):

1. Students will design and sew a wearable circuit using conductive thread. 2. Students will program a wearable microcontroller to light up garment with bright LEDs. 3. Students will incorporate solar power into a wearable garment project by recharging NiMH batteries for a renewable energy battery pack. 4. Students will apply knowledge of circuitry and energy transfer to maximize design.

Relevant Common Core Standard(s):

Light up your clothing using solar power! For this unit, students will attach thin, flexible solar modules to a bike helmet and recharge NiMH rechargeable batteries for a renewable energy battery pack. The rechargeable batteries will be used to light up bright LEDs via conductive thread and a programmed microcontroller. ... View full description >>

Lancaster, PA - Educators' Workshop

Lancaster, PA thumbnail
Location:
Lancaster, PA
Grade Level:
6-12

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding an Arconic facility in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Intermediate Unit (IU) 13, a regional education resources agency for the Lancaster-Lebanon area, hosted this workshop at their conference center.  IU 13 works closely with regional districts and was able to pinpoint outreach through district leaders to the immediate Lancaster area and to the most high need schools.  All of the 14 participating teachers from seven schools from the School District of Lancaster, as well as their science... Read full project narrative >>

Pittsburgh, PA - Educators' Workshop

Pittsburgh workshop thumbnail
Location:
Pittsburgh, PA
Grade Level:
6-12

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Arconic facilities in Pittsburgh, New Kensington, and Cranberry Township in Pennsylvania.  This workshop was conducted with a partnership between Solar 4R Schools and ASSET Stem Inc.  The partnership was developed as a method of combining curricular resources and collaborating on new hands-on content for the workshop itself.  Specifically, workshop activities were reworked in order to be more inquiry driven and include formative assessment pieces that are effective for usage during... Read full project narrative >>

Wichita Falls, TX - Educators' Workshop

Location:
Wichita Falls, TX
Grade Level:
4-12

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Arconic facilities in Wichita Falls, Texas in Spring 2016. Twenty-four teachers across 18 schools in 14 Districts participated in a professional development experience organized by their Educational Service Center (ESC) that included one day focusing on renewable energy education with Solar 4R Schools. ESC Region 9 hosted this workshop and Ward Scientific sponsored lunch and door prizes. Teachers from 4th-12th grade took home one science kit to share for every school that included... Read full project narrative >>

Wenatchee, WA - Educators' Workshop

Wenatchee WA solar car team Thumbnail
Location:
Wenatchee, WA
Grade Level:
9-12

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Arconic facilities in Wenatchee, Washington in Summer 2016. Seven high school science teachers from Wenatchee High School and the River Academy gathered in August 2016 to incorporate solar and wind science into their curriculum while adding more data collection technology to their classroom science materials. The teachers anticipate providing renewable energy STEM education to over 500 students in the district in the first year.

Washington Green Schools also partnered with... Read full project narrative >>

Wadsworth, OH - Educators' Workshop

Wadsworth OH thumbnail
Location:
Wadsworth, OH
Grade Level:
4-12

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Arconic facilities in Wadsworth, Ohio in July 2016. Partnerships were at the heart of bringing Solar 4R Schools’ education program to eight teachers across five schools in Wadsworth City Schools is expected to reach over 500 local students in the first year. Representatives at Solar 4R Schools connected with Wadsworth City Schools through the Alcoa Foundation, which is also supporting the district’s PRIME initiative (http://www.smeef.org/prime/... Read full project narrative >>

Arkadelphia, AR - Educators' Workshop

Arkadelphia AR solar circuit thumbnail
Location:
Arkadelphia, AR
Grade Level:
6-12

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Arconic facilities in Gum Springs/Arkadelphia, Arkansas in Spring 2016. This workshop was hosted by the Henderson State University STEM Center. The STEM center, alongside numerous others throughout the state, acts as a resource provision entity for teachers in the Central-Southwest portion of the state.  Beginning with recruiting nearly all 6th-12th grade science teachers from the immediate Arkadelphia region area, the STEM center then branched out to enroll teachers from areas as far... Read full project narrative >>

Solar Battery Charging

Lead Acid Battery
Average Rating:
0
Intended Grade Level(s):
7-12
Subject Area(s) Covered:
Physical science
physics
Earth Science
Integrated Science
Environmental Science
Chemistry
series circuit
parallel circuit
current
resistance
voltage
diodes
polarity
Estimated Activity Length:
9 hours
Learning Goal(s):

Students will build series, parallel, and parallel series circuits from a schematic diagram. Students will master the basic concept of battery charging. Students will be able to plan and build solar battery chargers for a given battery system. Intermediate students will calculate time to charge a depleted battery to its full capacity given specifications of a solar module. Students will be able to explain how a solar cell works with diagrams and words. Students will use a digital multi-meter to measure voltage, current, resistance, and diode polarity.

Relevant Common Core Standard(s):

Students will become familiar with circuits, cells, batteries, and photovoltaic cells, then plan, build, test, modify, and re-test a small solar battery charger designed to maintain batteries from a

... View full description >>