Sunday, December 16, 2007
Pringles Wind Turbine
This looks awesome. I'll have to try it the next time I teach this class!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Pringles-Wind-Turbine-Pleech---Version-One/
Friday, October 12, 2007
Congratulations to Al Gore
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2007
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 is to be shared, in two equal parts, between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr. for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Books
The Visual Dictionary of Physics, Jack Challoner (1995, Dorling Kindersley)
Eyewitness Science Explorer, David Burnie et al. (2004, Dorling Kindersley)
The Usborne Big Book of Experiments, Alastair Smith (1996, Scholastic)
An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming Adapted for a New Generation from the New York Times Bestseller, Al Gore (2007, Viking)
Wheels at Work, Bernie Zubroski (1986, William Morrow)
Energy (book and kit: solar racer, supercapacitor car, flywheel generator, your own battery, electric car), Penny Norman (2001, Science Wiz)
The Solar Car Book: A Complete Do-It-Yourself Solar Car Kit including All the Parts, Instructions and Pain-Free Science, (2001, Klutz)
Wind Energy Basics: A Guide to Small and Micro Wind Systems, Paul Gipe
Wind Crafts, Ute and Tilman Michalski (1990, Children’s Press)
The Wind at Work: An Activity Guide to Windmills, Gretchen Woelfle (1997,
Wind Toys That Spin, Sing, Twirl & Whirl: Wind Cimes, Windsocks, Banners, Whirligigs, Mobiles, Wind Vanes, Cindy Burda (1999,
Water Projects, John Williams (1998, Raintree Steck-Vaughn)
Mill, David Macaulay (1989, Houghton Mifflin)
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Save the Planet
Government agencies, utility companies and other commercial energy suppliers, and environmental advocates all have websites for kids with general information about energy alternatives. Just be aware that each has its own slant on the subject. The Kid’s Info page of Solar Energy International, a nonprofit educational organization, answers questions about the difference between solar thermal (heat) and photovoltaic (electricity-generating) energy, how PV cells work, and other interesting topics. Divided into sections for younger and older kids, it’s clearly written and integrated with useful links. Alliant Energy, a
Kids Korner, a feature available on the websites of power companies such as the Tri-State (sic) Generation and Transmission Association of Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming and New Mexico, is aimed at a younger audience, with helpful (if sometimes cloying) graphics. The U.S. Energy Information Agency’s Kids Page may be a bit over-detailed and hard to follow, but along with energy facts it offers virtual field trips to different energy producers from oil rigs to wind turbines, the history and the people involved, an Energy Conversion Calculator and more. And at the US Dept of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (Motto: “Bringing you a prosperous future where energy is clean, abundant, reliable and affordable”), Dr. E’s Energy Lab (at a new URL since last mentioned in this column) has links to helpful sites.
Hands-on projects are a great way to learn about renewable energy. Re-Energy, a site from the Canada-based Pembina Institute, which works on environmental policy, has easy-to-follow construction plans for a wind turbine, biogas generator, solar car and more. Build It Solar has an excellent page of links to solar projects for kids, along with info for building “real” energy systems and eco-friendly entire houses. And the Solar Cooking Archive is the Internet authority on solar cookers of all kinds, with directions, recipes, and interesting information on how solar cookers are being used in parts of the world where traditional fuels are not available.
There ARE websites that can be helpful if you’re looking for a quick overview of global warming, or your kids are ready to delve into the details of climate change. Despite its wishy-washy approach – the overwhelming agreement of experts notwithstanding, the site only concedes that “many of the world's leading climate scientists” think human activity is helping to make the Earth warmer -- the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Change Kids Site is fairly complete and is presented in an easy-to-understand format. And The Weather Channel has a site called Climate Change - Forecast Earth, with short informative videos and news links. But I would steer clear of sites like OneWorld.net’s Kids Channel, whose cartoon penguin hosts presents facts about “megadeaths,” plague and
“There is no doubt we can solve this problem. In fact, we have a moral obligation to do so. Small changes to your daily routine can add up to big differences in helping to stop global warming. The time to come together to solve this problem is now – take action.”
Family Online Picks:
An Inconvenient Truth www.climatecrisis.net
Step it Up http://stepitup2007.org
Solar Energy International www.solarenergy.org/resources/kids.html
Alliant Energy Kids www.powerhousekids.com
Kids Korner http://tristate.apogee.net/kids
Dr. E’s Energy Lab www1.eere.energy.gov/kids
Re-Energy www.re-energy.ca
Build It Solar www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Educational/educational.htm
Solar Cooking www.solarcooking.org
EPA Climate Change for Kids http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids
The Weather Channel Climate Change - Forecast Earth http://climate.weather.com