All Charged Up
Students will explore how a battery works, build their own battery, and then compare and contrast technologies specific to electric vehicle batteries.
Harnessing the Wind
Students will build a wind turbine using recyclable materials (or RAFT kits) and learn about the role of a generator in transforming the kinetic energy into electrical energy.
Mini Grand Prix
Students will build a car using recyclable materials (or RAFT kits), trace the energy transformations happening in the process, and race them!
Road Trip
Students will design their own summer road trip including the electric vehicle that they will drive, the distance between charges, charging locations, and overall cost.
Horse to Horsepower
Students will sequence historical modes of transportation in chronological order, determine how they function, and identify efficiencies and challenges.
Introduction to Semiconductor Processing
Students will learn the lifecycle of a semiconductor, from a silicon ingot to a microchip that can be installed in a complex electronic device.
Makey Makey Ocean Acidification
Human influences, explanations, and possible solutions to ocean acidification’s impact on coral reefs are explored and presented through an interactive poster where students program their tangible posters with a microcontroller/Scratch.
Gourd Goals: A Cross-Curricular Journey Into Global Water Challenges
Students will brainstorm and notice the ways they use water and importance to their lives and community. Students will develop a solution for using a limited water supply in their lives, as well as how to reduce contaminants and conserve their supply.
Local History and Uncovering the Hidden
Students will uncover the hidden histories of their school and neighborhood—once a PG&E processing site, built on landfill, and an evacuation center after the 1989 earthquake. Using the Question Formulation Technique, they’ll explore three themes: liquefaction, water, and power.