As time moves forward Millicent and I are beginning to go on more trips with our supervisor to see the schools. Recently we helped him to give 2 lessons on solar power to 5th and 4th grade students and 1st and Kindergarten students. The DPS Go Green Challenge is having a contest where students turn in a short paper and drawing detailing how they would improve the city of Detroit using solar power. Our main goal was to inform students about solar panels and how they work but also get them brainstorming about creative ways that they could be used. The 4th and 5th graders understood the concepts pretty well, having already studied the basics of energy such as fossil fuels and how electricity works. They were quick to name off different ideas, like solar powered street lights or my personal favorite: a solar powered bat mobile! The kids were adorable and really into the lesson; they loved turning the solar panels on and off by blocking them with shadows, flipping the panels over or trying to cover them with their hands. It was a great hands on activity for the kids. It was an unexpected challenge teaching the 1st and Kindergarteners just because they were still learning many new words and didn’t have understanding yet of how we get electricity. I was impressed by how my supervisor went about explaining it to the children in a way they could understand. First asked where energy comes from–the kids said food–then asked what it takes for that food to be grown–the kids said water, soil, and sunlight–and after that point it was easy; the solar panels are a bit like plants, planets use the sun to make food, while solar panels use to sun to make electricity! It was intriguing to see some of the kids grasp this idea while the other “trouble-makers” decided to go climb a tree instead of pay attention. But hey that’s how it is! Kids will be kids, and regardless it was fun introducing many of these students to solar power.
