A SMILE Teacher sent us an article to share with all – scientists have discovered a species of bacteria that can slowly digest polyethylene terephalate (PET), a common plastic that is in polyester fabrics and water bottles. It was previously believed that this material was not biodegradable and no microbes could break it down. This may be an important breakthrough in reducing pollution and cleaning up our oceans.
Check out the full article here!
From our January Teachers’ Workshop:
Thanks to Brain Hartman from the College of Education for sharing this bioenergy activity with us at the workshop.
It All Comes Down to Glucose Lesson Plan
It’s All About Glucose Powerpoint Presentation
From our January Teachers’ Workshop:
Brewing for Bioenergy Lesson Plan
Brewing for Bioenergy Presentation – This is the powerpoint that Brian Hartman shared during the session
From the January Teachers’ Workshop:
Here are the materials associated with the Renewable Energy and Wind Turbine kit lesson (presented by Brian Hartman, PhD Candidate in Education):
Renewable Wind Energy Presentation
Basic Wind-Kit Manual
SONY DSC
We will be holding the summer teacher’s workshop Aug 9-11. The bioenergy activities will focus on renewable energy. Bioenergy is a part of the complete renewable energy picture, but how do you choose which option makes the most sense. We will kick off the workshop by exploring best practices for engineering design projects, Designing Engineers Activity. Then, look at what it takes to power a house that is off the grid. We will use geographic information systems (GIS) to determine whether its makes sense to use Trees or Solar Panels for the renewable energy source. This will lead into design of the house to optimize solar panels and solar heating through the Solar City Activity. Finally, we will take a deep dive into optimizing solar photo-voltaic panels for maximum output with the Shocking Solar Activity. We hope to see you at the workshop.
We had a great time at all three Middle School and Elementary School Challenges this year. We ended the Challenge at Oregon State University’s Cascade Campus where elementary students learned about predator and prey relationships. AmeriCorps volunteers helped the students create habitats to help demonstrate these relationships. Check out their work below and on our Facebook page. Students also had a great time touring Central Oregon Community College and continued to make awesome solar ovens. We hope to see you next year!
This year’s challenge was focused around solar energy. Middle school students made solar ovens and we were impressed with their results. While at Portland Community College, the elementary school students were introduced to exciting areas of study like physics, chemistry, biology for management of zoo animals, chemistry, and veteranary technician. It looks like a fun time was had by all. Be sure to check out more pictures on our Facebook page.
As seen by our last post, students put forth a great effort during our High School Challenge. While learning about ways to recycle, the students also were able to talk to current Oregon State University students about college life. Here are some pictures from those events. Additional photos can be seen on our Facebook page found here.
