Alternative Energy Field Trip at the Sanctuary

Ever since we've opened our green building school groups have been interested in learning more about the practical uses and applications of alternative energy. They especially like that they can bring their students here to see, touch and learn more about the various materials and systems we use at the sanctuary.

We had 18 fifth graders from the Wellfleet Elementary School. Amy Ferriera and Mary Richmond put together the curriculum for the day and it included a scavenger hunt of the building to find the various green points and materials. For this each child had a list of 17 elements they had to find and in the end we all discussed our findings. The kids loved this approach as did their teachers. Instead of being passive listeners they had to go out and look and feel and figure things out.

The students worked in small groups to build their own solar cookers. Unfortunately the rain kept us from cooking our own s'mores but we sent home the ingredients so they could make them on a sunny day at school.

We used pizza boxes, tin foil, plastic wrap, black paper and masking tape to make our cookers. It's a simple project that makes its point pretty directly and easily.

Our third project of the day was a challenge to build an invention that utilized alternative energy to make it run. The students worked in pairs or by themselves and had access to all the same materials. They were given a half hour to complete their projects and as you can see, they were fully engaged.

The results were awesome. Most used solar and wind power and many were quite creative and inventive.

The project shown here with the three balloons used the wind power of deflating balloons to turn its turbines!

We had invited the class to a waste free lunch challenge. This meant their lunch had to be packed in reusable containers, including their drinks. Cloth instead of paper napkins and washable silverware instead of plastic. Half the class scored a perfect 5 on the challenge with the rest falling somewhere between going half way or not at all. Interestingly, even those with the greenest of lunchboxes didn't pack a green snack...... All in all it was a really great day. One kid was heard exclaiming, "This was the best field trip ever!" as he left.