| Get Your Students Interested in Energy
Although energy issues have a global impact, the local school environment provides an excellent starting point for energy awareness. That's where EnergySmart Schools comes in. EnergySmart Schools works to reduce energy consumption in school buildings and buses so the savings can be reinvested in education.
But rather than focusing exclusively on energy savings for schools, EnergySmart Schools also strives to expose students to the value of energy efficiency and renewable energy.
There are many ways to get students involved and interested in energy issues:
- Science projects can be very effective in teaching students about energy issues. To get started, see lesson plans and science projects for links to more information.
- With help from teachers and facility managers, students can conduct energy audits of their school and then present results and recommendations to school management. In many cases, students not only feel empowered but also contribute to facility changes that save schools money. See lesson plans and science projects on this site for links to more information on student energy audits.
- Students, with help from their parents, can take the U.S. Department of Energy's Family Home Energy Quiz.
- If your school does undertake an energy-saving retrofit or construction project, you can encourage administrators to consider displays—like cutaway portions of energy-efficient walls or windows—that show students and others the "inside story" to energy savings.
- Get your students involved in an energy-saving retrofit, construction, or installation project. In Iowa, the Akron-Westfield Community Schools District leveraged a wind energy project with student involvement from the very beginning. Twenty students were chosen to assist in the analysis, schematic design, construction documentation, and construction administration of the wind turbine. The students and their mentors were recognized at a national education conference in San Diego.
- Assign your students to write research papers on energy efficiency practices or renewable energy technologies. It could lead to exciting results. In Iowa, the Forest City Community Schools District now relies on a wind turbine to power its classrooms after a student presented a research paper on wind energy to the school board. The turbine should provide 80% of the school's electrical needs.
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