Summer camp helps students understand renewable energy and clean technology

Camp provides educational opportunity concerning renewable energy

The Northrop Grumman Corporation, Colorado State University College of Engineering, and Cherry Creek Schools partnered over the summer to provide students with a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience with clean technology and renewable energy. The partnership resulted in Colorado’s first STEM/Cybersecurity Summer Camp, which is meant to highlight the careers that exist in the science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and cybersecurity fields. Renewable energy was a relatively popular topic at the summer camp and proved to be an attractive concept to the 45 students that attended the camp.

Students get a chance for hands-on experience with clean technology

Students from the Colorado State University College of Engineering and experts in the renewable energy field were tasked with teaching attendees of the various aspects of renewable energy and clean technology. Climate change and the effects it could have on the world saw some attention, but those attending the camp were also tutored in various forms of clean power, including wind and solar energy and hydrogen fuel. Attendees did not only learn about these forms of renewable energy, of course, they were tasked with putting the knowledge they had gained to practice.

Students build functioning renewable energy systems

The students that attended the camp, ranging from grades 9 to 12, built functional wind turbines and solar energy systems. These projects were small in scale, but help students gain a more tactile understanding of these technologies. Students also learned the benefits of hydrogen transportation and how various forms of renewable energy could be combined to make hydrogen-powered vehicles more efficient and commercially viable.

Educational programs could be the key to getting a new generation excited about renewable energy

The summer camp lasted for a week and a race of hydrogen-powered vehicles that students had created marked the end of the experience. Those attending the camp claimed that they had a better understanding of renewable energy and clean technology. Educational programs, such as the STEM/Cybersecurity Summer Camp could be an effective way to introduce a new generation to the technologies and energy systems that will be very common in their futures.