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Powering Curiosity Resources

Summary

Powering Curiosity: Teaching Energy Efficiency Through Real-World STEM

Welcome, Powering Curiosity participants!

If you spent June 17th with us in Mills River, this page has everything you used. No hunting around the site; just the resources from your day, in order.

This full-day workshop was hosted in partnership with the NC Science House at NC State University. It brought together 6-12 educators, curriculum specialists, and administrators to explore energy efficiency through Switch Classroom lessons, hands-on investigations, and a tour of the LEED Platinum-certified Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. facility.

Morning Session Resources

Energy Demand & Scale

Videos, a Kahoot quiz, and a data set. This gave a quick but grounding look at why efficiency matters at the grid level before zooming into buildings and homes. Play the Kahoot: Demand Curve & Scale Quiz

Intro to Energy Efficiency (middle school-level group)

This group worked through real appliance efficiency data and tackled the Home Energy Design Challenge: designing a home system that stays within a budget and an energy limit. The Energy Efficiency Video and Exit Ticket that the whole group interacted with also came from this lesson.

Science of Energy Efficiency (high school-level group)

This group dug into long-term trends in residential energy intensity and completed the Measuring Device Efficiency Lab, measuring how efficiently a heating device converts electrical energy into useful thermal energy. The Bell Ringer that the whole group interacted with also came from this lesson.

Afternoon Session Resources

Investigating Passive Solar Heating Lab

Investigating how different flooring materials absorb and retain heat has a big effect on building design. Groups collected data on different flooring materials and used it to inform their building design scenarios.

Innovative Building Design Research Project

Each group worked through one of six scenarios rooted in LEED building design. Sierra Nevada. Every scenario connects to a COTE® Top Ten Award design category (the same framework used in the full lesson). Download the Building Design Scenario Cards (PDF)

Extensions

These resources are great options to dive deeper into energy efficiency:

  • Home Electricity Audit: Students analyze a real utility bill, calculate appliance energy costs, and investigate efficiency upgrades. A natural take-home companion to what you did in the morning.
  • Family Energy Awareness Challenge: A four-week project where students and families track household energy use and try out conservation strategies together.
  • Power Down Challenge: Students become Energy Detectives, monitoring waste and making the case for smarter energy habits school-wide.

Stay Connected

Questions about what you learned in the session? Reach facilitator Ruthann McComb directly: mccombr@gmail.com

Want to help shape future Switch Classroom resources? The Teacher Advisory Council is a community of educators who test lessons, give feedback, and connect with others doing this work across North America. Apply to the TAC here.

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Ready to keep exploring Switch Classroom lessons and activities? Browse the full resource library.