FutureFit Extension Activities
Get Real: How Will You Heat Your Home – Research and Report
The U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy lists the following four sources of renewable energy: solar, geothermal, wind and water. Allow students to research these four sources of renewable energy online and then discuss the following question with a partner: When we are homeowners, how will we heat our homes? After the students discuss with their partners, allow them to share their thoughts with the class.
Serve: Inspiring Engineering
Show the students the video titled “Solar Power Cools Camel-Transported Vaccines” from Princeton School of Engineering and Applied Science. Just as the title suggests, aid workers are using portable, solar-powered refrigeration carried on the backs of camels to deliver vaccines to children in impoverished areas of Ethiopia and Kenya. Have students draw their own invention that would help those in need and use a renewable energy source to do it. Allow students to share their inventions with the class or in small groups.