US Dept of Energy announces grades 3-8 residential energy challenge
Submitted by Shawn Reeves
2011-06-14 20:52:14
The US Department of Energy, along with its partner the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), has opened registration until September 30, 2011, for its Home Energy Education Challenge. This program is open to all public and private classes and schools for students in grades 3-8. 36 local competition teams across the United States participating in the Home Energy Challenge will receive cash awards totaling $102,000 at the regional and national competition levels.
America's Home Energy Education Challenge is designed to teach students and their families about energy, energy use, and the correlation between saving energy and saving money to encourage them to implement energy savings techniques at home. The two parts of the program allow all students to gain knowledge of energy and awareness of energy use and then learn about energy saving methods. The America's Home Energy Education Challenge is intended to provide an additional incentive for students and schools to leverage local efforts and participate in a national program. As a resource to educators and parents, America's Home Energy Education Challenge will provide energy-saving ideas, resources for developing increased knowledge of energy and energy use concepts, connections to utility energy saving programs, and instructional materials for teachers focusing on energy and energy conservation.
According to the NSTA, "this fall, school teams in grades 3?8 participating in the Home Energy Challenge will be asked to implement energy efficiency activities that reduce the energy use in their homes. Teams will be asked to monitor and measure their energy consumption over a specific three-month period and compare it to data from the same period the year before, to track if they have successfully reduced their energy use."
Teachers should register as team leaders representing their school's teams.
Go to the challenge web site for more information, rules, eligibility, and to register:
http://www.homeenergychallenge.org/