SEI’s Solar In the Schools (SIS) program finished its 2014 season of labs with local 8th grade students participating in an introductory solar technology lab October 21 – 24. A total of 320 students from Delta Middle, Cedaredge Middle, Hotchkiss K-8 and Paonia Jr. High arrived by school bus to explore SEI’s lab facility in groups of 40 for morning and afternoon lab sessions.  Boys and girls from across Delta County, Colorado engaged in four hands-on solar energy labs including lessons and activities in energy efficiency, measuring power, solar orientation and site analysis, testing properties of a photovoltaic cell, and designing a battery-based PV system.

Andrea Wang, SEI’s Solar in the Schools coordinator, explained: “This week was a great start to offering ongoing renewable energy and solar technology education to young students in our local communities.  Our region features a long history of energy production both in coal and natural gas and we can now count solar as a significant local energy resource as well.  We’re very interested in sharing our energy education efforts with the local youth, hopefully sparking their interest in incorporating solar and other renewable energy technologies into their future endeavors.”

The week’s labs were made possible by SEI’s partnership with Colorado State Wildlife and Park’s TEN (Teaching Environments Naturally) program, which promotes outdoor education and connecting students to local resources. TEN greatly assisted with student organization and bus transportation.   SIS also received a generous donation from the El Pomar Foundation which helped fund additional lab equipment needed during the successful lab week.

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