Clean Energy Education Program

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NC GreenPower’s Clean Energy Education Program is a STEM-based initiative that helps bring exciting and engaging energy curriculum to the classrooms of North Carolina teachers.

This new program, which is aligned with North Carolina State Science Standards, combines energy workshops, hands-on activities and outside community experts to enhance the experience of all students and expose them to the energy field and STEM. Participating educators are invited to take part in energy education workshops where they can receive STEM kits for their classrooms. These kits begin to get students learning about the science of energy and how it impacts their daily lives.

NC GreenPower is partnering with the NEED Project to bring North Carolina educators this new opportunity. The NEED Project is a 501(c)3 organization with over 40 years of experience in providing energy education programs to educators and students across the country.

All K-12 educators in North Carolina are invited and encouraged to apply for this opportunity! The Clean Energy Education Program will accept up to 30 schools in the 2024-2025 cohort.

Apply Now

Program Timeline

August 2024Application Opens
September 2024Applicants Notified of Program Acceptance
October 2024First Educator Professional Development (see flyer/agenda here)
Hands-on Kits Delivered to Participating Schools
December 2024Second Educator Professional Development
Energy Fair Kits Delivered to Participating Schools
Clean Energy Education Mini-Grant Application Opens (for purchasing additional energy education resources)
February 2025Third Educator Professional Development
Spring 2025Educational Audits Provided to Participating Schools
Schools Host Community Energy Fairs
Energy Challenge & Youth Awards Projects Submitted

Educator Professional Development

Each participating school will be invited to send two teachers to each of three teacher workshops.

Hands-on Classroom Kits and Curriculum

Each participating school’s teachers will select a series of STEM-focused hands-on kits. All kits and curriculum are correlated to the North Carolina State Science Standards.

Science of Energy + –

This unit provides background information and hands-on experiments to explore the different forms of energy and how energy is transformed from one form to another. Groups of students explore six stations and then teach others about the energy transformations at their stations. Teacher demonstrations are included to introduce the unit. The stations include equipment to teach transformations focusing on kinetic and potential energy, heat, light, motors, batteries and electromagnetism.

Solar Energy Kit + –

This kit is available in four levels for primary, elementary, intermediate and secondary students to learn about solar energy transformations, including solar energy to thermal energy and solar energy to electricity. All levels include hands-on investigations and activities.

Wind Energy Kit + –

Also available in four levels, this kit covers wind formation, the history of wind use and how wind is used to generate electricity. Lessons are included for both onshore and offshore wind.

Energy Efficiency Kit + –

Written at three levels, this kit provides activities and tools to explore energy efficiency in a school building, including plug loads, water heating and insulation.

Energy Challenge

Participating schools work on a yearlong energy challenge and develop a solution to solve a series of energy-related problems and barriers. Schools will share their Challenge Project at the end of the year and submit their work to NEED’s Youth Awards for Energy Achievement.

 

Energy Fair

An energy fair is a great opportunity for students to share their energy knowledge with their communities. Participating schools receive a box of fair supplies and a $100 grant to support the hosting of the fair.

Educational Energy Audits

Participating schools have the opportunity to request an educational energy audit. NEED’s Certified Energy Manger will visit the school and work with a small group of students to do an audit of the building, investigate how the building uses energy and understand how efficiency and conservation could be improved. Students take their knowledge with them to help their families manage energy use at home.

 

Program Resources

Clean Energy Education Program Portal Login
Clean Energy Education Program Guide
Energy Fair Kit Contents