Join CREATE for this webinar to learn about a lesson co-created by STEM educators in NC that invites students to examine how current and future energy sources and systems impact people and communities. This collaborative lesson introduces students to the concept of energy justice by fostering learning about how energy sources, their production, distribution, and associated waste (e.g., coal ash), along with the generation and distribution of electricity, affect communities. The lesson features real-life energy stories and relevant online mapping tools, such as the EPA’s Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool, support inquiry by enabling students to ask about and examine relationships between energy infrastructure and community demographics. Students use an adaptation of the Energy Justice Scorecard (Baker, et al. 2019) published by Initiative for Energy Justice as a tool to evaluate the extent to which a relevant energy story promotes energy justice. Ultimately, this lesson prepares students to be able to describe the features of a “just transition” to a clean energy future.

Would you like to learn how solar PV works & develop lesson plans for your classroom? Join CREATE for the STEM Educator Virtual Solar Institute.

Included with the course: 

• Six complete solar PV lesson packages (and access to many more!). 
• $200 in solar PV equipment to implement CREATE’s lessons (classroom solar module, electrical meters, solar power meter) at no cost to you! 
• Lab equipment award application to request student sets of solar PV equipment to support teaching solar in your classroom (valued at $1200). 
• Professional instruction using CREATE’s lessons and equipment in your classroom. 
• Opportunity to win up to $1000 through Teaching Innovation competitions by demonstrating effective use of your lesson plan in the classroom. 

Schedule: 

• Saturday, April 13, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm CST  
• Wednesday, April 17, 6:00-7:00 pm CST  
• Saturday, April 20, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm CST  
• Wednesday, April 24, 6:00-7:00 pm CST  
• Saturday, April 27, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm CST

In this webinar, a student project is presented in which undergraduate Mechatronics students conducted a scientific research to solve a common everyday problem, and designed and built a system for that purpose.  The goal of the project is to seek to solve the issue of the heat in parked vehicles in the summer through the use of a solar-powered cooling system.

This webinar is part of CREATE's Innovation series and runs approximately 30 minutes.

Presenter: Dr. Khalid Tantawi is an Assistant Professor of Mechatronics Engineering Technology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Join KidWind for this hydropower virtual workshop to explore the science of water based power!

During this virtual workshop, educators will learn the foundations of water power including the science and technology of hydropower turbines. This workshop will also introduce activities for the classroom that engage students in dynamic, hands-on energy-based learning.

All teachers who pre-register will receive a $100 kit before the 3 hour virtual training and will go through how to use these materials in the classroom. This workshop has self guided and in-person components.

Some things to know:

• This workshop and the materials used are geared towards middle school and high school teachers.
• No prior knowledge of hydropower is required.
• You will need a stable internet connection and dedicated space in which to work.
• You will need access to a sink to do some basic hydropower experiments.
• KidWind will ship you a box of material 4-7 days before the workshop.
• Preservice and retired teachers are welcome!

Use discount code CREATEWK2024 to reduce the registration cost to $10. Register by April 10th to receive materials prior to the workshop.

Join CREATE for their upcoming webinar, Two Lessons in Alternative Energy. In the first lesson students will each play a role as scientists, engineers, advertising agents and consultants for their company in an effort to convince the community that their source of alternative energy is the best. In the second lesson students will design and test blade shapes for a wind turbine, analyze data on wind capacity, experiment with a lux meter, determine the environmental impact of solar panels based on geography, and adjust parameters to change the effectiveness of solar panels.

Presenter: Greg Hogan, Middle School Science Instructor