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joelmckellar
Joined: 31 May 2006
Posts: 91
Location: Charleston, SC
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 Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 10:56 am Post subject: Green Education Lessons |
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We're looking into developing a short program geared towards middle school kids teaching a few concepts about sustainability and it's relationship to architecture and the built environment. We'd like this to be as hands on/interactive as possible. I'm looking for good sources for programs/lesson plans or simple ideas.
One example we'll probably use shows the difference between pervious and impervious surfaces. We'll use a watering bucket and pour it on an inclined box of soil/sand/pervious concrete/etc. and have the children act as storm drains, spooning as much water from the bottom into a separate bucket.
Then we'll cover the surface with a thin layer of impervious surface (asphalt/concrete/saran wrap/etc.) and pour the water again. This time water will flow quickly and they'll be overloaded. Water splashes around, kids laugh, and most importantly understand why pervious surfaces are important.
We don't want to get too complex here, so no dissertations on the differences between thin film and traditional PV's or the like...
Thanks for any help you can offer.
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Joel McKellar, LEED AP
Real Life LEED - A blog devoted to practicing LEED professionals |
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birgco
Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 302
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| Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 5:16 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Joel, sounds like a great idea, i hope others will follow your lead. You need to be outside (kids always want to be outside during school hours) for access to sunshine during the class but I think it would be worth it for these simple demonstrations. You also need a bit of your carpentry skills to pull this off.
- construct 2 wood frames of black and white painted copper or aluminum with a loop of black tubing and a small thermometer attached. Expose to sunlight and allow the students to touch the two samples and observe the difference in temperature to illustrate the ability of the sun to provide warm/hot water to heat our homes and how color matters during this process.
- the major home stores sell a pv powered attic fan for about $180. Set up on a demonstration board and alternately cover and expose the panel to sunshine. Great example of simple non-grid powered cooling technology. (make sure the fan blades are safely coverered to prevent screaming kids and potential lawsuits)
-this next one may require fire safety clearance but the demonstration is dramatic. (It's also a good idea to be outside for this one) Bring a plain newspaper, bag of fire rated cellulose insulation, and a small plumber's torch with built-in ignitor, You can talk about the manufacture of insulation from waste materials and also graphically demostrate how the newpaper will easily burn when exposed to flame, the treated cellulose should (hopefully) not, Good opportunity to talk about the different kinds of insulating materials, R values and their importance in saving energy.
The pervious surface idea is excellent.
Remember, you are not only expected to teach, but also need to entertain....... the props are a big help.
Hope these few ideas get you started and good luck. |
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joelmckellar
Joined: 31 May 2006
Posts: 91
Location: Charleston, SC
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| Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 5:17 am Post subject: |
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Thanks so much!
I love the idea about passive solar heating...
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Joel McKellar, LEED AP
Real Life LEED - A blog devoted to practicing LEED professionals |
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