HOBO Energy Challenge, Ongoing
Submitted by Evan Lubofsky
2005-02-15 12:52:50
[This is not a paid advertisement. I just wanted to let these folks tell you about this fruitful teaching opportunity. ETO has received no compensation, money or otherwise, from Onset Computer Corp.--Editor]
MEDIA CONTACT:
Evan Lubofsky, Public Relations Manager
iScienceProject
Tel. (508) 759-9500 x181
ISCIENCEPROJECT LAUNCHES K-12 ENERGY CONTEST
New HOBO Energy Challenge promotes hands-on science learning and energy awareness with free equipment loans
BOURNE, MA, September 2, 2004 – Have you ever needed to open your classroom windows on a cold winter’s day to beat the classroom heat? Are lights left on in your school cafeteria long after lunch hour is over? Are people in your school constantly forgetting to turn off computers?
If any of these scenarios sound familiar to you, get your class ready for the HOBO Energy Challenge, an exciting new contest program for K-12 teachers and students sponsored by iScienceProject, the leader in reliable, battery-powered data loggers.
The free contest, which runs from September 1, 2004 – May 1, 2005, is designed to promote energy awareness within schools while offering students of all ages a fun, hands-on science learning experience with HOBO® data loggers. A data logger is a simple to use, portable electronic recording device that can be set up in minutes to monitor light usage, room temperature and relative humidity. Accompanying software turns the energy usage data into colorful, time-stamped graphs that indicate, for example, when lights were on/off and what room temperatures were during the night.
The mission of the contest is simple: use data loggers to find examples of energy waste in your school. Participating classrooms will receive a free HOBO Loaner Package that includes everything needed to start investigating energy usage: a HOBO data logger, software, and energy-saving contest activities.
Classrooms that investigate and document at least one example of energy waste win a complete HOBO data logger system ($200 value). An entire classroom set of HOBO data loggers ($1000 value) will be awarded to elementary, middle and high-school classrooms that make the greatest effort to investigate energy waste.
“The HOBO Energy Challenge is a fabulous opportunity for teachers to provide a hands-on lesson that can not only teach, but demonstrate to students how they can make a difference in their schools and communities,” says Mary Funk, a teacher at Burrel Union Elementary School in Burrel, California. “Last year, our school ran a program to track energy using HOBOs. The loggers were easy enough for our first graders to use, yet exciting enough for our eighth graders. We found we could conserve energy with little effort, and ended up saving approximately 20% on our monthly Pacific Gas & Electric bill. We were also able to tie the energy lesson in with state-mandated standards in science, math, and language arts, which was a real bonus.”
For more information on the HOBO Energy Challenge, or to sign up, please visit
About iScienceProject
iScienceProject offers free loans of HOBO data loggers to K-12 teachers in the U.S., and an exciting, interactive web site where students and teachers can download over 100 free classroom labs, and participate in contests. Please visit