In-Person Classroom Visits
Starting in April, the STEM team began reconnecting with students in the classroom again. Colleen and Tyler started off with a few live presentations at Romig and Central Middle Schools in Anchorage. Tyler even found himself teaching from under a desk after the classroom was rattled by a 4.0 magnitude earthquake!
In May, the team traveled to Girdwood to test student designed wind turbine blades using their wind tunnel. Clay even traveled up from Southeast to join Colleen and Tyler for this session!
Wind Turbine Blade Design Workshops
In June, Colleen and Tyler led two wind turbine blade design workshops with Anchorage School District’s Title VI Indian Education Summer Enrichment Program. The theme of this year’s camp was “Nurturing Nature: Stewarding our Land.”
During their visits, Colleen and Tyler highlighted the wind resources in Alaska and the potential to turn that energy into electricity using wind turbines. Students then designed their own turbine blades, testing variables such as blade shape, blade material, number of blades, and pitch angle. Campers represented communities from across Alaska and attended the Summer Enrichment Camp for five days, and other than the wind design activity, they learned many culturally responsive lessons such as tundra seed and plant identification, orienteering, and collecting and using bird feathers.
ANSEP Clean Energy Camp
The second week in June, Colleen and Tyler led a virtual five-day summer academy with the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) called Clean Energy in Alaska. Although this academy was virtual, it allowed students from 19 different Alaska communities to attend! Using materials mailed out by ANSEP, the students completed daily labs and challenges for a chance to win prizes and increase their energy literacy. Students built a model home out of the box their materials arrived in and outfitted their home with insulation, solar power, wind power, and personal décor throughout the camp.
Quyana, thank you, to all of our guest speakers who joined us to talk about clean energy careers in Alaska. And a big quyana to the students and the stellar ANSEP team for all your hard work!
UAF Clean Energy Camp
At the end of June, Tyler traveled to Fairbanks to teach a week-long Clean Energy in Alaska camp through the UAF Summer Sessions and Lifelong Learning program. During the week, the students built their own model homes made of recyclable materials. Students learned about energy efficiency and Alaska’s renewable energy resources and projects with hands-on labs and outdoor activities. Campers applied their knowledge to their model-homes by adding insulation, solar lighting, and wind energy.
Perched atop the Akasofu Building on the Troth Yeddha’ campus, the class had unabated views of the Tanana Valley and the Alaska Range all week!