Riva Sharples | Editor
What do socks, flashlights and bicycles have in common? All these materials were used to teach nearly 600 children – including those at Beresford and Alcester-Hudson — in about electricity during the recent Co-ops in the Classroom program.
Co-ops in the Classroom is a program offered by East River Electric Power Cooperative, of which Southeastern Electric is a member. Jenny Gross, Education & Outreach Coordinator for East River, travels throughout East River’s service territory in eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota to teach children about electrical safety, generation, conservation and economics. This month, Gross brought this energy education to 10 schools, presenting 11 times to 360 students in the area.
“In November, we visited Canistota, McCook Central, Montrose, Tea (Venture and Frontier), Viborg-Hurley, LWC Intermediate, Beresford, Centerville and Alcester-Hudson,” said Erica Fitzhugh of Southeastern Electric. “SEC plans to visit additional schools in December, hoping to reach 600 students total.”
At each school, Gross engages students with activities and hands-on demonstrations regarding electricity. During the course of her hour-long presentations, Gross takes students on the journey of electricity at the atomic level, all the way to the hundreds of miles it travels from the power plant to our homes.
A variety of demonstrations engaged the students. A Van de Graaff generator demonstrated the movement of electrons with some hair-raising results.
“That one is always a crowd-pleaser,” said Gross. “Not only does it provide a visible and audible example of how electricity moves, students also get a kick out of seeing their hair stand up and shocking their friends. Sometimes we even get the teachers to join in.”
Another device that invokes a lot of excitement is the Pedal Power bicycle generator. Students are asked to become power plants as they provide the energy that produces electricity for lights and small household devices.
“The Pedal Power turns the concept of electricity from something abstract into something tangible. By providing the energy needed to make a light bulb turn on, the students are able to quantify just how much more energy an incandescent light bulb requires than a CFL or LED,” said Gross.
By the end of the presentation, students had developed a new understanding and appreciation for electricity.