Science Buddies
Science Buddies: The Power of Heat Is Right Under Your Feet!
You might know that we are able to get free energy from the Sun, the wind, and water, but we can also get free energy from Earth itself. This source of energy is called geothermal energy and it is all about taking advantage of the heat...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Using Heat From the Sun
In this lesson plan, students will first discuss where energy comes from, including sources such as fossil fuels, nuclear, and such renewable technologies as solar. After this initial exploration, students will investigate the three main...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Cooking With the Sun Creating a Solar Oven
For this activity, students will be given a set of materials: cardboard, a set of insulating materials (i.e. foam, newspaper, etc.), aluminum foil, and Plexiglas. Students will then become engineers in building a solar oven from the...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Is Energy? Short Demos
Three short, hands-on, in-class demos expand students' understand of energy. First, using peanuts and heat, students see how the human body burns food to make energy. Then, students create paper snake mobiles to explore how heat energy...
Science Struck
Science Struck: Examples of Thermal Energy
Describes examples of thermal energy in the natural world from the Sun, the oceans, and the Earth.
Oklahoma Mesonet
Oklahoma Climatological Survey: Earth's Energy Budget
This 2-part resource details how the Earth absorbs just enough energy from the Sun to sustain life. Content explores incoming solar radiation and outgoing terrestrial radiation.
US Energy Information Administration
U.s. Eia: Energy Kids: Renewable Energy: Solar
This is a resource on solar energy, photovoltaic energy, solar thermal heat, solar thermal power plants and other forms of energy.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Heat It Up!
Through a teacher demonstration using water, heat and food coloring, students see how convection moves the energy of the Sun from its core outwards. Students learn about the three different modes of heat transfer (convection, conduction,...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Energy
Through nine lessons, students are introduced to a range of energy types--electrical, light, sound and thermal-as well as the renewable energy sources of wind, hydro (water) and solar power. Subjects range from understanding that the...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Are You in Hot Water? Use Solar Energy to Heat Your Own Water
The goal of this science fair project is to build batch solar collectors from different colors of plastic bags and see which collector is the most efficient in heating water.
Concord Consortium
Concord Consortium: Stem Resources: Greenhouse Light and Temperature
An interactive tool where students can create a model of a greenhouse and use a light sensor to measure the amount of light it receives from a lamp at various times of the day. Temperature is also measured. Data is plotted on graphs,...
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Solar Structures
During this lesson plan, young scholars will construct a passive solar house from everyday items then explore how the sun's energy is used to heat and cool it.