This is a recording of a recent live teleclass I did with thousands of kids from all over the world. I’ve included it here so you can participate and learn!
Discover the world of clean, renewable energy that scientists are developing today! Explore how they are harnessing the energy of tides and waves, lean how cars can run on just sunlight and water, tour a hydroelectric power plant, visit the largest wind farms on the planet, and more! You’ll learn how streets are being designed to generate electricity, how teenagers are making jet fuel from pond scum in their garage, and how 70 million tons of salt can provide free, clean energy 24 hours a day forever! During class, you’ll learn how to bake solar cookies, magni-fry marshmallows and do the experiment with light Einstein won a Nobel prize for that is the basis of all photovoltaic energy today.
Materials:
- One cup each: hot (not boiling), cold, and room temperature water
- Cardboard box, shoebox size or larger.
- Aluminum foil
- Plastic wrap (like Saran wrap or Cling wrap)
- Hot glue, razor, scissors, tape
- Wooden skewers (BBQ-style)
- Black construction paper
- Cookie dough (your favorite kind!)
- Chocolate, large marshmallows, & graham crackers if you want to make s’mores! If not, try just the large marshmallow.
- Large page magnifier (also called a Fresnel lens, found at drug stores or places that also sell reading glasses, or at Amazon.com)
- This worksheet
The worksheet is listed as a link in the materials section.
I cant find the worksheet
The plastic wrap is used with one of the solar cookers. It is mentioned about 25 minutes into the video.
Why do you need plastic wrap?
Thank you for answering my question and thank you for letting me have this amazing experience!
1. A smartphone battery holds a couple of grams of lithium, but an electric vehicle (EV) battery uses around 10kg (about 22lbs) of the element. A lithium mine produces many tons of lithium.
2. There are many different types of wave energy convertors (WEC). The amount of power varies, depending on the system. Many product from 1 to 40 megawatts.
4. Scientists us special filters to block most of the light coming from the sun. That makes it safe for camera equipment. Special “eclipse” glasses make it safe to look at the sun. Sunglasses are never enough. It is actually your skin that detects light and produces melanin. Even if your eyes were covered, your skin still knows that it is exposed to light. But, the skin’s built in protection isn’t enough to protect ourselves. The purpose of sun screen lotion isn’t to keep your skin cool. Sun screen lotion (also called sunblock) is stopping ultraviolet light from reaching your skin. Ultraviolet light (UV) is what causes skin to burn.
5. They don’t want to make wind turbines difficult to see. They are painted white to make them more visible from the air.
6. Solar heaters work by running water through black pipes. Sunlight then heats up the water.
This energy class is really cool! I do have a few questions though.
1. I know that Lithium – ion comes from a mine but how big does the mine have to be to make one battery? Also how long does each battery last for?
2. How much energy can you get from a WEC? Do they make them into giant size then put them on the machine or do they make the machine out of the actual design?
3. Why couldn’t you do all the things on the page? I now need to look at the answers to finish of the rest of the book.
4. If you say to NEVER look at the sun through anything with lenses then how do photographers take photos of the sun up close and from a distance? Also if most people in the world wear sunglasses, how do they not burn their eyes when they look up at the sun? My Mum also told me that if or when your at the beach or doing something in the sun your eyes tell your brain that its getting hotter and your brain tells your body to send out a chemical to stop yourself from burning, but if you were wearing sunglasses, wouldn’t that stop your eyes from telling your brain? same with sun-cream. It keeps your body cool so then it doesn’t send out the chemical to stop you from burning!
5. If the wind turbines are so ugly, then couldn’t they just paint it?
6. How can you make hot water from a solar panel?
That’s all for now! Thank you for giving me a great chance to share my science brain! Not many people in my family understand what I’m talking about! If I confused you to much just let me know:)
The Fresnel lens was developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses.
Fresnel is weirdly spelled. Why?
A good thing to try is cookies. This page has more information: https://www.sciencelearningspace2.com/2019/02/solar-cookies-3/
The foil helps reflect sunlight. You definitely need it.
What other foods can I use for my solar oven?
Why do you need foil ? Can we skip it?
You can make solar cookies right in the snow, as it doesn’t rely on ambient temperature (a student actually send in a photo of his solar oven catching on fire in the snow). It’s more about focusing the energy. You can use insulation (wrap it in towels, use paper wadding or cotton) if it’s not working well to cook outdoors. You can also place it inside of a sunny window indoors where the sunlight comes in, and open the window for a few hours while it cooks.
Is it possible to do the solar cookies and any other solar lesson when it is the cold months of winter? We are in the Midwest.
The project is around the 36 minute mark. Does that help?
And it’s one sign on username for everyone in your household.
I can watch the video on Renewable and Alternative Energy and I can download the worksheet.
But I can find anything on the project where is it?
Also, does my son have a separate signon, or is just one signon for the course?
Just trying to figure out how to use this.
Hello, there’s no video instruction for the solar cookies…
Make sure you are logged in – the videos are playing over on my end. If you still have trouble, please send me an email so we can check your account: [email protected]
Hello Aurora, the video is not playing. Has it been removed or something?
The distance between the marshmallow and the lens is important – move the marshmallow toward and away from the lens until you see it start to melt a tiny bit – that’s where you want to place it. Also make sure the lens is pointing directly at the sun. Keep trying – I know you’ll get it!
My experiment did not work why?
Where does the marshmallow go? We don’t think the window is in the right place? It is really cold outside. It is below freezing. Where should I put it?
Try refreshing the page. Did that help?
It says the video will not load…….
Hmm, the video should be playing for you. I’ll have Tonya connect with you by email to make sure your account is set up correctly.
Hi Aurora, I am trying to view the alternative energy telecasts, but I don’t see a link anywhere to view it
yes thank you!
Yes it should have been in the materials list. I’ve reposted it – do you see it now?
Hi, are there any handouts for this that can be printed out?
They are two different things
No, you can hop and skip around, and when you’re done then go ahead and work through the evaluation to see how much you’ve mastered!
hi, do we do all of the lesson videos before we do the evaluation?