Kids turn green with energy
Library hosts learning event for children, parentsBy LAYLA ASLANI, DMG Writer
Article Photos
HOUGHTON - The children gathered at the Portage Lake District Library Monday night for Renewable Green Energy in the Upper Peninsula were pretty energy-savvy, despite their ages ranging approximately from 4 to 12.
When asked to identify renewable energy sources, they quickly rattled off the obvious sources: solar, wind and water. They struggled with biomass and geothermal, but T.J. Brown, the outreach coordinator for Northern Options Energy Center in Marquette, stepped in to help them learn more. He explained where the heat tapped for geothermal energy comes from.
"If you dig a hole in the ground in the middle of winter it's going to be warm," he said, explaining it would be over 50 degrees.
He then discussed the different between windmills and wind turbines.
"A windmill uses mechanical power to crush things and a wind turbine is used to make electricity," he said.
He also listed the different types of biofuels such as wood, crops, garbage, landfill gas and alcohol fumes. Garbage, he said, could be a great source as our world produces a lot of it.
"If we can take our garbage and make something useful out of it like energy ... that's a good thing," he said.
Brown told the audience of more than 20 children and adults that it is important to use other sources of energy as we are in a time known as peak oil, meaning there will be less and less oil produced as time goes on. Brown said it is key to use renewable energy, but also to conserve energy by turning off lights when not in use and making sure homes are not losing energy.
After the presentation, the children were given the task of making their own windmill. Using styrofoam balls, popsicle sticks and paper, they designed different blades. Next, they attached their invention to a milk carton in front of a fan to test how much weight it could raise up in pennies.
At first, the mills weren't that successful, but after a few tweaks in the designs, the little cup that held the pennies started moving up. Soon kids were raising 20, 30 and even 40 pennies and rushing to fix and make their wind mills even better. After his windmill raised 40 pennies, 10-year-old Joseph Barkdoll declared "I'm going to stop for now, unless someone beats me."
Many kids moved on to building their own anemometers, a device that measures wind speed, but some stayed to see if they could raise one more penny. The perseverance paid off for David Jaszczak of Houghton, he was able to raise 41 pennies.
The event was the second program in the Energy Education Series, which is coordinated by the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education; Michigan Tech's Center for Science and Environmental Outreach; and the Copper Country and Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School Districts. Funding for the program is provided by the Michigan Energy Office and Upper Peninsula Power Company.
For more information on future energy events, contact the library at 482-4570 and either Joan Chadde or Lloyd Wescoat at 487-3341.
Layla Aslani can be reached at laslani @mininggazette.com.
