A group of 10 Tracy Area High School students in Amy Larsen’s Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) elective are playing the role of engineers as part of a new STEM program thanks, in part, to a $10,000 Xcel Energy grant received by the Tracy Area Community Foundation.
More than 1,000 middle and high school students are participating in a STEM initiative across six schools in Becker, St. Cloud, Tracy Area and New London-Spicer.
The new learning opportunities are possible after We Care Solar and Xcel Energy partnered this summer to host Solar Solutionaries training for educators from six schools in Xcel Energy territory. The program helps educators incorporate a set of 10 Solar Suitcase Learning Kits into their classroom, enabling students to build a working 12-volt stand-alone solar energy system while gaining real-world STEM experience and renewable energy literacy.
“Solar energy is just kind of exploding — that and wind energy — and this is a career that the students could potentially do,” said Larsen. “They’re also learning about electricity — volts and currents. And just problem-solving. One of the last things that we’ll do is think of a problem that they have to solve using solar.”
Larsen said the We Care Solar program got its start when its representatives went to Africa and learned that small hospitals could not operate at nighttime, one reason for the high mortality rate there.
“They were like, ‘What can we do; we need something that’s small and portable that we can make to help these hospitals,” Larsen said. “They created these kits the size of a small suitcase.”
The solar suitcases and its contents of which were purchased with the help of private or corporate donations include varying sizes of solar panels and a panel that when completed will be connected to an LED light bulb — the kits for the hospital include three bulbs. We Care didn’t stop there; they took it to the school level as well.
“You would see a picture of these kids around an old kerosene lantern trying to do their homework — five kids around a table at night,” said Larsen. “So they developed the same sort of kits for kids in Africa. They wanted us to be able to see what they’re doing over there.”
One of the schools included a school for the deaf, Larsen said, where communication takes on a different meaning.
“If you can’t see people signing — they couldn’t communicate at night,” said Larsen. “Now they have lights, so they can communicate at night.”
Not only did TAHS students get a glimpse of what life is like in Africa and how the solar kits are being used there, they also are building their own. Students in Larsen’s class have formed groups of two or three and are charged with putting together a solar kit themselves. Each group has a manual from which to go by and share assembly duties.
Larsen said they should be able to complete their mission in two or three class periods.
In total, more than 5,000 students across the state of Minnesota are participating in We Care Solar programs this year. So far, We Care Solar curriculum has reached 153 schools and more than 28,000 students in Minnesota.
“This is just trying to expose them to something new, because they really haven’t done anything solar,” Larsen said.
THE WE CARE SOLAR AND XCEL ENERGY INITIATIVE gives Tracy Area High School students like Tovin Kainz, Owen Beier and Owen Magruire a chance to learn about solar energy by putting together a solar kit. Photo / Per Peterson
