Nebraska Public Power District

Contact: Diana Luscher

Tel: (308) 236-2230

Email: dllusch@nppd.com

The Nebraska Public Power District has incorporated NEED into its education programs, offering NEED in-services and classroom programs across the state. NPPD’s Energy Education Team conducts workshops and provides classroom curriculum materials to interested schools.

Sponsor: Nebraska Public Power District.

Teachers can access NEED curriculum online. As resources are available, teacher workshops and hands-on kits are available. Individual state curriculum correlations are available here

Saint Isidore School

Columbus, NE

Project Title: Nebraska Energy Educated Dominators

Project Adviser: Megan DeWispelare

This year, in sixth grade, energy sources were well-defined in the kits that we used. We completed the experiments in groups, devised a plan, implemented the plan, and investigated procedures. While doing each and every experiment we asked questions of ourselves and our audiences, formulated testable hypotheses, and selected proper ways of using equipment and technology.

Through the investigation of the experiments, we gained a better understanding of the energy sources necessary to know under the state standards. One was to determine if energy sources were renewable, nonrenewable, or inexhaustible.

The kits provided the means for us to know what was expected throughout each experiment. We were able to get a better understanding of the concept of biomass. We also studied solar energy, wind energy, fossil fuels, hydroelectricity, geothermal, and nuclear energy.

We have a better understanding that energy taken from renewable resources such as fossil fuels originally came from the sun and may renew slowly over millions of years. In addition, through better understanding of all the energy sources, we gained knowledge of how to environmentally use the energy source through ethical practice.

The students through the NEED program are better able to make wise choices about resources.