Free Mini Exhibit for Schools

 

Conservation Quest

SolarSolar

Hands-on, Play-filled Learning

Host Conservation Quest at your school and help children learn about energy conservation through direct, hands-on experiences.

  • Over 15 hands-on activities
    and program ideas
  • Can fit into any space with one electrical outlet
  • Grades K – 4

Available free of charge to elementary schools throughout Connecticut beginning in March 2010.

Call or email Tom Dring
203 899 0606, ext. 267
to schedule or learn more.

Download PDF button

Overview

Bring museum-quality experiences to your school. Vibrant pull-up banners, portable hands-on exhibits and play-filled activities allow students to learn by doing. Be the first to host Conservation Quest – a small, portable exhibit promoting energy conservation. Learn about clean energy, light bulbs, recycling and more. Sets up anywhere – gym, media center, classroom, lunch room. FREE to schools. Reserve today!

 

Topics

• Energy • Environmental Health • Conservation • Future of Energy

 

Goals

• Explore what energy is and how we use it
• Discover that some earth materials are limited and need to be conserved
• Understand that choices we make affect our health and the health of our planet
• Be inspired to continue practicing energy conservation techniques

 

Curriculum Connections

Conservation Quest contains strong curriculum connections and activities at a variety of skill, cognitive and developmental levels. Complementary educational program ideas provide
extended learning to reinforce the exhibit experience.

Science

  • Inquiry, Literacy and Numeracy
  • Properties of Matter – K.1, 3.1
  • Energy Transfer and Transformations – 4.4, 5.1
  • Matter and Energy in Ecosystems – 4.2
  • The Changing Earth – 2.3, 3.3
  • Energy in the Earth’s Systems – 4.3
  • Science and Technology in Society – K.4, 1.4, 2.4, 3.4, 4.4

Math

  • Algebraic Reasoning: Patterns and Functions – 1.1, 1.2 
  • Numerical and Proportional Reasoning – 2.1, 2.2
  • Working with Data: Probability and Statistics – 4.1, 4.2

Social Studies

  • Standard 1: Content Knowledge – 1.5, 1.10
  • Standard 2: History/Social Studies Literacy – 2.2
  • Standard 3: Application – 3.2

Language Arts

Reading and Responding

Healthy and Balanced Living

  • Standard 1: Core Concepts – E.1.1
  • Standard 3: Self-management of Healthy Behaviors – E.3.4

 

Green Design

Conservation Quest was designed and produced using environmentally-friendly materials and practices. Green design signs throughout the exhibit call out these sustainable features.

  • Eco-friendly graphics (Eco-board)
  • Sustainably managed wood
  • Water-based stains and sealants
  • Eco-resin used instead of plexiglass
  • Self-crating components

 

Conservation Quest Mini Exhibit for Schools made possible by Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund with additional support by The Foster Family Fund • Northeast Utilities Foundation • Evolution Markets Inc. • New York Mercantile Exchange

Conservation Quest is an extension of Healthy Children, Healthy Communities® made possible by The Bauer Foundation • UnitedHealthcare • State of Connecticut • The Foster Family Fund • Herb and Anne Gullquist • People's United Community Foundation

 

Program Ideas

Conservation Star
A card game of war. Low energy users beat high energy users. The one who collects the most low energy users is the conservation star.

Energy Scavenger Hunt
Search for ways you use energy – at home, at school or on the go.

Energy Sources
Practice identifying and sorting energy sources into renewables and non-renewables.

Food Map
How far does your food travel? Map the origins of a meal and calculate your food miles.

Invent It
Do you have an idea to help use less energy? Think big. Use recycled materials to create your invention. Your museum can also set up an Invention Convention within the exhibit – a space where visitors can regularly invent and create.

Plant a Seed
Plant a seed and grow your own vegetables.

Recycled Art
Got stuff? Use your creativity to turn used objects and materials into works of art.

Seek and Find
Explore colorful murals to find examples of energy and conservation. How many can you find?

Solar Race
Build it, charge it and race it! Use solar-powered cars and other materials to explore the power of the sun.

Waste Challenge
The average American produces 5 pounds of waste per day. How much do you produce? Participate in a challenge to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Watt’s the Wattage?
Demonstrate electricity use for a variety of common electronics using a watt meter. Bring your own small electronics to test how much they use.

The Way It Was
Research energy use in different time periods – then put on an energetic play.

 

Web Resources

Energy Hog  www.energyhog.org

Energy Information Administration  www.eia.doe.gov

Energy Information Administration Kids’ Page  www.eia.doe.gov/kids

Energy Quest  www.energyquest.ca.gov

The Institute for Sustainable Energy  www.easternct.edu/depts/sustainenergy

National Renewable Energy Laboratory  www.nrel.gov

US Department of Energy  www.eere.energy.gov

US Environmental Protection Agency  www.epa.gov


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