Everywhere you turn, there is concern for the development of consciousness about the environment and the sustainability of life on the planet. Governments are trying as many ways as possible to convince citizens to use less energy or to find alternative ways to produce power, so that the resources of the planet, threatened by development, are not depleted.
Unfortunately, the message may be in the air, but it is not often on the ground. Most people, and especially young people, are aware that there is a need to both conserve and find alternatives, but are oblivious to the ways in which their personal lives are affected by that need. In short, there is often a disconnect between the message and the intended receivers. One way to begin to create that base-line consciousness is the hands-on involvement of the Class Project.
Eco Innovations
Those of us born in the middle of the last century may now be steeped in the joys of technology, but we still remember the analogue world, and the idea of releasing the assembly-line technology in favor of something less digital is not so strange. But for our children, the idea that chasing a hoop could be as much fun as fighting Lord Zod on the planet Ukob for three hours is outrageous. And the idea that building your own race-car could be as rewarding as buying one online is unthinkable. How, then, will the need to unplug from the energy eating dragons be accomplished in the near future? How can we introduce our children to the idea that our hands are useful for more than texting?
The class project was once the best way to get youngsters involved with the joys of accomplishment, whether as individuals or in groups. Unfortunately, in recent years, there has been a tendency towards more exotic (and high-tech) projects, many of which are in fact done more by parents than by the youngsters themselves. Building a solar water heater is a great way to reintroduce the student to both the kind of hands-on effort that can be translated into future sustainability and to projects simple enough to accomplish (realistically) by themselves.
This approach, we feel, accomplishes both the development of a focus on sustainability among an important segment of the population and provides an element of real accomplishment. The Solar Water Heater is an excellent project because it offers the opportunity for innovation in the use of found materials, a great variety in the number of types of heater to build and where there is the need to buy materials, they are generally inexpensive, all great conditions for a Class Project!
A Solar Water Heater - The Perfect Class Project
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