Star Power A reading and 2 activities for 8-13 year olds on harnessing the Sun’s energy
by Michael J. Caduto H
OW CAN TEACHERS and environmental educa- tors broach the overarching issue of global climate change in such a way that students are empowered
to do something about it, rather than becoming despondent? What are the basic understandings that young people need in order to generate their own renewable energy and cut down on greenhouse gases? Every day, the solution shines down upon us and blows
in on the wind. Understanding how the immensely powerful forces of nature work, and knowing how to use them for gen- erating renewable energy, are keys for unlocking young minds and energizing youth toward action. I developed the Kids’ Power Program so that youth can have fun while generating and storing renewable energy that they can use in everyday life. This subject is a natural entry point for getting kids
excited about physical forces and electricity. After presenting my program to classes of 6th graders in Connecticut recently, the students started coming into class eager to power up
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using their own original inventions for mini-wind turbines. It’s all about the Power of One: Every single environ-
mental action taken by every single person adds up to have a powerful positive impact on the world. If all of the approxi- mately 120 million households found in Canada and the United States lit just a single lightbulb with solar-powered electricity, instead of with electricity supplied by the power grid, it would save enough energy to power all of the light- ing for 4 million households. This would also cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and shrink our carbon footprints. The following article is adapted from my new book,
Catch the Wind, Harness the Sun: 22 Super-Charged Sci- ence Projects for Kids (Storey Publishing). This excerpt shows that critical science concepts can be written and presented so that they are understandable, compelling, fun and useful tools for Earth stewardship. In essence: Earth is powered by a star, the Sun, whose energy comes from nuclear fusion. Solar power is a nearly boundless source of renewable energy that we can harness for heat and light, to generate electricity and to help fight global warming.
GREEN TEACHER 93
Joshua Strang, United States Air Force
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