Go to Top of Page
Environment
These include energy
activities that kids can do online and materials to help classroom teachers
teach about energy.
- Energy
Education Resources: Kindergarten Through 12th Grade, published
by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), is a list of generally
available free and low-cost energy-related educational materials.
- National
Energy Education Development Project (NEED) is a network of students,
teachers, community organizations, government agencies, and corporations
that are dedicated to learning about energy. NEED is helping EIA maintain
the EIA Kid's Site and make it fun and educational for students and
teachers alike.
- Ask
an Energy Expert is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy's
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and welcomes questions
on energy efficient and renewable energy technologies.
- Energy
Quest, a service of the California Energy Commission, provides energy
education for children.
- At the Minerals
Management Service, US Department of the Interior Kids' Page, you
can visit an offshore oil rig.
- The
Geothermal Education Office (GEO) helps to provide a better understanding
of what geothermal energy is, what it can do, and its place in providing
the clean energy necessary to protect our environment while providing
needed power. The GEO assists schools, industry, energy and environmental
educators, and callers nationwide.
- Roofus'
energy smart home is a service of the U.S. Department of Energy's
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EREN). That site also
shows a listing of energy-related kids sites at
http://www.eere.energy.gov/kids/.
- Earth
Dog's Web site discusses renewable energy resources, such as solar
energy, wind energy, hydropower, etc. "Earth Dog" is a fun, furry, global
cartoon crusader designed to teach environmental awareness to you all.
You can learn all about the various renewable energy sources at http://www.earthdog.com/renew.html.
- National
Energy Foundation's Web site is a great resource for students and
teachers both. This organization is dedicated to the development, dissemination,
and implementation of supplementary educational materials, programs,
and courses, related primarily to energy, water, natural resources,
science and math, technology, conservation, and the environment. See
fun activities for students at
http://www.nef1.org/students.html and resources for teachers at
http://www.nef1.org/educators.html.
- The Academy of
Energy Web site, http://www.academyofenergy.org,
provides an information-rich, action-based journey that provides valuable
information, tests knowledge, enables access to outstanding teaching
and learning resources, and encourages everyone to take action in terms
of energy conservation. The site is sponsored by Johnson Controls, Inc.
as part of their energy and environment education programs and is in
partnership with the
National Energy Foundation.
- Energy
Ed Online is a service of the Energy Center of Wisconsin, to initiate
and facilitate the development, dissemination, implementation, and evaluation
of energy education programs within Wisconsin schools.
- Learning
Zone on Chevron Corporation's Web site. Children can get an idea
about how a refinery operates and about the tools Chevron uses in the
search for oil and natural gas; learn about the history and properties
of crude oil; and find out what a Chevron service station is all about.
- National
Science Teachers Association provides an "energy primer." The site
discusses energy in general, sources of energy, fossil fuels, renewable
energy, and so forth. Also included are lesson plans for educators and
experiments that children can try on their own.
- EnergySmart
Schools is a partnership -- a joint effort of Government and private
organizations -- led by the U.S. Department of Energy. The partnership's
goals are to reduce energy consumption and costs and increase use of
clean energy technologies in K-12 schools nationwide and to increase
student, teacher, and community awareness of energy and related issues
including financial management, air quality, climate change, and new
technologies.
- Green
Schools was developed by the Alliance to Save Energy and is a comprehensive
program designed for K-12 schools. The program creates energy awareness,
enhances experiential learning, and saves schools money on energy costs.
At http://www.ase.org/greenschools/students.htm,
students can participate in Green Schools by learning about energy use
and its effects on the environment and economics. Features specially
created for teachers include lesson plans, a bibliography of resources,
and comments from teachers currently using the Green Schools curriculum.
See at http://www.ase.org/greenschools/teachers.htm.
- Learn
About Chemicals Around Your House . This Web site is maintained
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Pollution Prevention
and Toxics. You can take a tour through various rooms in a virtual house
and search for household products that you feel are harmful to the environment
- or to you. You can also find out what to do if you have been exposed
to hazardous household chemicals. And a separate link will take you
to phone numbers of State and regional poison control centers (http://ace.orst.edu/info/nptn/poison.htm).
- EduGreen
. This site has been created by Tata Energy Research Institute, New
Delhi, India. There, you will find topics such as Life on earth, Renewable
energy, Air pollution, and Climate change. Interactive features include
games, quizzes, puzzles, and networking with others.
- Paleontological
Research Institution, Ithaca, New York. This is a brand new Web
site on the geology and history of oil. It is aimed at 13-15 year olds,
but should be useful to children and adults of all ages. Various topics
provide information on the history of oil, the geology basis for oil,
its uses, tools used to find oil, the steps that need to occur for there
to be an economic accumulation of oil underground, and so forth.
-
FSEC Teacher Resources is offered by the Florida
Solar Energy Center, a statewide research institute which dedicates
substantial effort to the development of educational resources for teachers
and children. The site contains two award winning online solar energy
science units: Solar
Matters for teachers and students in grades 4-8, and Solar
Wonders for high school teachers and students. There is also a new
online science unit on alternative fuels entitled Alternative
Fuel Matters. Go to http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/ed/teachers/
- Northeast
Sustainable Energy Association is the largest regional energy association
in the United States and a leading force in public and professional
education, advocacy, and policy information. Check out their educational
site at
http://www.nesea.org/education/index.html. Visit their page at http://www.nesea.org/education/materials.html
to find teaching materials such as lesson plans and other activities.
- Louie's
Space (Louie is a light bulb, made to look like a lightning bug),
sponsored by Central Iowa Power Cooperative, takes you on a guided tour
of the science, safety, and history of electricity, plus a whole lot
more. For instance, there are fun projects at
http://cipco.electricuniverse.com/html/eu/education/louie/fun/index.html,
and several Web pages that show what work you could do when you grow
up (at
http://cipco.electricuniverse.com/html/eu/education/louie/life/careers/career1.html).
- DOE's Kidz Zone
at http://www.energy.gov/kidz/kidzone.html
offers a portal for science and energy education, with age-grading of
the many links to other Department of Energy educational sites.
- Kid's
World is an educational site developed by the Texas Railroad Commission.
(You'll especially enjoy "Ask
the Commissioners!")
- Available from
the Smithsonian Institution is: Documenting History in the Making -
The Story of Powering a Generation at http://americanhistory.si.edu/csr/powering/index.htm
includes what's new in electricity restructuring in the United States.
- Collecting the
History of Fuel Cells from their origins to future technology and uses
at: http://fuelcells.si.edu/.
- A science and
technology program at: http://www.si.edu/nsrc/pubs/stc/matrix.htm
for children in grades one through six has four distinct units for each
grade level. These 24 units provide energy-related experiences in the
life, earth, and physical sciences and technology while simultaneously
developing critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. For example,
the 6th grade unit on magnets at: http://www.si.edu/nsrc/pubs/stc/mm/overv.htm
has 16 lessons. Alternating Current (AC) would not be possible without
magnets .
|
|