2007-2008 Catalog and Membership Guide
Want to learn more about NEED products and services? NEED to print out a Catalog Order Form? Need information about ordering specific pieces of NEED's hands-on kits?

2007 Pricelists for NEED Kits and Consumables

Primary Science of Energy Kits

Elementary and Secondary Science of Energy Kits

ElectroWorks Kits

EnergyWorks Kits

H2 Educate (Hydrogen) Kits

Solar Kits

Wind Kits

Energy Management Kits

Exploring Magnets Kits

For information on ordering replacement parts, please contact NEED at 1-800-875-5029 or info@need.org.

Projects and Activities provides schools with opportunities for outreach.

Blueprint for Success (PDF)
Our guide to designing your energy education programs. This document includes assessment materials and information on the NEED Online Pre and Post Poll/Energy Knowledge Assessment. PDFs of the Primary Poll, Elementary Poll, Intermediate Poll, and Secondary Poll are available online. Answer keys are available for teachers in the Blueprint for Success. An online pre and post assessment is available on line.

Curriculum Correlations - National and State

NEED Curriculum Correlations to the National Science Education Standards for all grade levels. NEED has also correlated our materials to many State Education Standards.

If you need correlations of materials to your state standards, please contact NEED

Energy Resource Materials for K-12

NEED Energy Infobooks
Available in 4 levels - Primary, Elementary, Intermediate, and Secondary!

NEED Energy Infobook Activities have been developed to reinforce the information in the Infobooks. Each of the activities has been provided in individual PDFs.

NEED’s Question Bank gives teachers the ability to customize evaluation tools for their energy units.

"NEED" a Science Fair project? Here are some simple experiments! Before you start though, consult NEED's Energy Fair to learn more about planning a Science Fair Project.

The Energy Bike Guide provides instructions for assembling the Energy Bike and an extensive curriculum for using the Energy Bike to explore concepts of electricity.

Energy Rounds activities involve a classroom of students and help students make connections between the sources of energy and other topics.  (Grades 5-12)

Energy Enigma requires that students research the nation's leading energy resources while working cooperatively in small groups. Students consider data, clues, and game strategy to win!

Transparent Energy Graphics - Thumbnail Gallery of graphics can be used to pull energy graphics into student presentations.  To request a copy of the Transparent Energy Teacher Guide email NEED at info@need.org. 

From NEED and The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management the Energy on Public Lands curriculum guide emphasizes the energy resources located on public lands and how they are managed by the BLM for the benefit of all citizens.  

Developed in partnership with the Ohio Energy Project and the Ohio Coal Development Office, This Mine of Mine teaches students about coal, coal mining, and the science and process of mining.  For grades 2-6. 

The Fossil Fuels to Products Curriculum Guide, developed in partnership with the Center for the Advancement of Process Technology, Shell Oil Company, The National Science Foundation, and Halliburton covers the exploration, production, refining, chemical manufacturing, transportation, marketing, and uses of petroleum and its products in the industrial sector with background information and hands-on activities.  (Grades 6-12)

Teaching about Transportation?

Due to great demand from teachers wishing to expand their energy and transportation opportunities, NEED created the Transportation Fuels Debate Game, the Transportation Fuels Expo, the Transportation Enigma and the Transportation Fuels Rock Performances - all borrowing from other NEED teacher favorites that focus on energy sources.

With the support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Biodiesel Education Program and the National Biodiesel Board, NEED produced a Teacher Guide for Biodiesel.  The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the Governors' Ethanol Coalition collaborated with NEED to create a Teacher Guide for Ethanol.

The H₂ Educate Teacher and Student Guides and accompanying hands-on kit were created with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrogen Program and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).(Both Guides are PDF files (7mb each) may take a while to download on slower connections.)

Hands-On Science Activities for Primary Teachers

The Primary Science of Energy Teacher Guide and the Primary Science of Energy Student Guide help K-3 educators teach young students about energy!

Teaching about Thermodynamics

The Thermodynamics Teacher Guide and the Thermodynamics Student Guide help 9-12 students learn more about thermal energy and thermodynamics.  Detailed equipment lists and student lab activities are included.

Energy Efficiency and Conservation

NEED has a large portfolio of lessons to teach students about energy efficiency and conservation.  The Energy House and Energy Conservation Contract help students and their families learn simple ways to reduce energy consumption at home and to reduce energy costs.  Used with NEED's Energy Management for Schools lessons and kits - Building Buddies, Monitoring and Mentoring, and Learning and Conserving, students gain knowledge that is applied to energy usage at school and at home.   NEED is also a partner of the Energy Star  Program.  Take the Pledge to Change a Light. 

Energy Web Game / School hang tags / Home hang tags
Buildings – homes and schools - are interactive systems consisting of occupants, mechanical systems, and the movement of heat, air, and moisture. All of these aspects relate to indoor air quality, the cost of energy, and environmental impacts. This activity helps students understand the systemic nature of energy use, and is a strong reinforcement tool for kinesthetic and visual learners.

Saving Energy for Students and Families - In Indiana and Kentucky, Duke Energy and the Indiana Office of Energy and Defense Development sponsor home energy efficiency kits and programming for teachers and students.  The Saving Energy Teacher and Student Guides provide teachers and students with simple lessons to understand energy efficiency and conservation around their home using low-cost energy efficiency measures. 

ComEd will provide these kits to schools in their Illinois service area beginning fall 2007. 

The Saving Energy Expo was created to provide students with an expanded opportunity to learn about energy efficiency technologies while improving research and presentation skills.  Similar to Energy Expo and Transportation Fuels Expo, this new addition to the NEED portfolio leads students through research on efficiency technologies. 

The new Energy Survey Teacher Guide and Student Guide were created to assist teachers and students who wish to expand their energy management activities beyond NEED's Learning and Conserving unit.  These "audit" activities help students understand building science and the many ways we reduce energy consumption in school buildings. 

New Wind Energy Curriculum

NEED's new wind energy curriculum, sponsored by the American Wind Energy Association, is now available on four levels with background information and hands-on activities to explore motion, weather, the history of wind, and modern wind technology.

The primary Wind Is Energy Kit (Grades K–1) has a Teacher Guide, student information in a storybook format, and suggested hands-on activities, with pinwheels, bubbles, a mini wind turbine, and a fan.

The elementary Wonders Of Wind Kit (Grades 2–3) comes with Teacher Guide, class set of Student Guides, and equipment to conduct hands-on experiments, including pinwheels, bubbles, materials to construct pinwheels and wind indicators, a mini wind turbine, and fan.

The intermediate Energy From The Wind Kit (Grades 4–6) comes with Teacher Guide, class set of Student Guides, and equipment to conduct hands-on experiments, including a KidWind Turbine, a Genecon, a wind gauge, materials to construct anemometers and wind indicators, materials to explore convection, a fan, and more.

The secondary Exploring Wind Energy Kit (Grades 7–12) comes with Teacher Guide, class set of Student Guides, and equipment to conduct hands-on experiments, including KidWind Turbines, a Genecon, a wind gauge, a fan, multimeters, materials to construct anemometers, and more.

The KidWind Project is partnering with NEED on the wind curriculum and KidWind Turbines are included in the Energy From The Wind and Exploring Wind Energy Kits. For more information on these turbines and other wind resources visit the KidWind website. 

NEED Schools Going Solar Curriculum

NEED's hands-on solar kits help students learn more about solar energy and its applications. To help schools incorporate more solar energy education into their classrooms, NEED prepared a series of hands-on kits about solar. The Teacher and Student Guides may be accessed in PDF below. Kits are available from the NEED Catalog.

Primary Solar Energy Teacher Guide - The Sun and Its Energy

Elementary Solar Energy Teacher Guide - Energy from the Sun

Elementary Solar Energy Student Guide - Energy from the Sun

Intermediate Solar Energy Teacher Guide - Exploring Solar Energy

Intermediate Solar Energy Student Guide - Exploring Solar Energy

Secondary Solar Energy Teacher Guide - Photovoltaics

Secondary Solar Energy Student Guide - Photovoltaics

The Schools Going Solar guide provides research activities for schools with installed photovoltaic systems.