Mount Hermon Outdoor Science School’s Solar Energy Class
By Callan Sturgis (Naturalist)
At Mount Hermon Outdoor Science School, we have over 3,000 kids come through our program. Each week, we get a new set of 5th and 6th grade students ready to experience science in a completely different way. Every week we offer one afternoon of electives that each teacher has crafted in their own passions. On Wednesday afternoons at Mount Hermon Outdoor Science School, Callan’s Solar Energy class is where it is at!!! I get their interest piqued with the idea of harnessing the power of the sun to make our homes run and reel them in with my solar-powered race car. I may hint to a love for math to give the kids an idea of what to expect and boy, do they come running!
Our first adventure is to understand how the path of the sun affects our world. The kids are reminded what summer and winter solstices are as well as equinox, as to visualize the different positions the sun takes in the sky throughout the year. If solar cells work most efficiently in direct sunlight, the kids are challenged to try to figure out at what degree our solar panels should be positioned. Using rulers, protractors and our location’s latitude, students diagram the farthest south the sun rises (winter solstice), the farthest north the sun rises (summer solstice) and solar noon. Once they have agreed on the angle of our solar panels, we start making our own!
I pass out solar kits that require a pretty thorough understanding of parallel and series circuits. Once they feel comfortable, each group of 2 or 3 begins to set up 8 solar cells that start with .4 Volts and 100 Amps individually. The students actually decipher the correct combination that allows for 1.6 Volts and 200 Amps that power the small attached fan. The look on their face as that fan begins to spin is priceless.
Why is solar energy important? What impact could it have on our lives? The perspective of a 6th grader is far different from my own so their answers are great! “You could play video games outside.†“We could give energy to poor countries so they could have warm showers.†“We could save money and not have to pay so many bills.†No matter what perspective, seeing it for their own eyes opens up so many more avenues of possibilities for solar energy in their world. They begin to build an appreciation for this largely untapped resource and get excited for what “could be.â€
The class ends with solar cars which is what got them all there in the first place. I chalk out a beginning and ending line in a sunny spot, for instance, our tennis courts. They have some time to tinker a bit with their car. They reduce as much friction as possible and when they feel ready, we line them up. The anticipation is great. The kids are pumped. And with a blow of my whistle, they are off!!!! Some pull to the right. Some pull to the left. But others move ahead full force to the finish line, powered by the sun alone. The kids want to race over and over, sure that they have found the perfect angle of the solar cell, the smoothest ride and the straightest path. This experience is what really locks it all in. That they can use solar energy for what they want in their lives. It isn’t just a grown-up thing.
