Reminders and announcements!

  • Teachers and students, are you moving on to a new school next year or heading out into the world after graduation? Consider signing up for the KEEP newsletter using a permanent email address to continue receiving great energy education tips in the fall!
  • This newsletter will be on a summer break next month, but we look forward to seeing you back again in August!
  • Full scholarships are still available to Wisconsin K-12 educators for the Summer Institute for Climate Change Education virtual conference. KEEP is a co-host.
Apply
Register
  • KEEP Kits will not be available for check-out or return from June 28-July 5, so put in your request early and reserve your favorite kit.

Solar Tilt Kit builds collaborative connections!

KEEP staff worked this spring with Melissa Kneeland, Dunn County Historical Society executive director, to develop lessons and activities for students to learn more about their on-site solar array. As a part of that initiative, KEEP helped Melissa source components to build an in-house Solar Tilt Kit and Solar Load Kit for educator use.

When it came time to build the stands for the Solar Tilt Kit, KEEP turned to a familiar source. While still a student at Marathon High School, Jacob Smith, son of KEEP Resource Specialist Gina Smith, used computer-aided design (CAD) software to design and 3-D print the stands for KEEP’s Solar Tilt Kit.


Earlier this year, Jacob uploaded his design to Thingiverse to share his work with the wider world. This allowed KEEP to connect Melissa with Aaron Johnson, Darlington Middle School and High School’s Technology Education teacher, who used Jacob’s design to teach his CAD students about design modification.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Johnson

Photo courtesy of Aaron Johnson

Students Landon Edgerton, Broker Buschor, and Kane McDermott rescaled the design, added Dunn County labeling to the stand legs, and problem-solved when the 3D printers experienced some technical glitches.


“One of the most challenging things was when we had to figure out the measurements and how to scale up or scale down to a reasonable size," said Landon. "My favorite part about this project was the printing part and the designing where we could work as a team and share ideas.”

Thank you to Jacob Smith, Melissa Kneeland, Aaron Johnson, and the students at Darlington High School for making this project happen!

We think the result is beautiful!


We love connecting the knowledge and enthusiasm of people across Wisconsin to help drive energy education initiatives.


Please reach out to us at keep@uwsp.edu if you have ideas that need a little networking to bring them to reality!

Photo courtesy of Aaron Johnson

New Kit: Elementary Energy Explorations!

Check out KEEP’s NEW Elementary Energy Explorations Kit! This kit contains all the non-consumable materials needed to run the nine lessons in the Elementary Energy Explorations series, which challenge students to explain the phenomenon of how flipping a light switch leads to filling a room with light. Students explore what energy and electricity are; where electricity comes from; the impact getting our energy has on the environment; how electricity gets to our homes and buildings; and how circuits and switches work. 

Reserve this Kit

Oldie but Goodie Kit: Sun Oven!

As the days lengthen and the sun shines ever brighter, why not check out a Sun Oven from KEEP? Complete with pans and a recipe book, you can cook real meals just with the power of the sun! Borrow the Sun Oven in person from KEEP in Stevens Point or Reflo in Milwaukee.  

Reserve Stevens Point Kit
Reserve Milwaukee Kit

Summer Professional Development Opportunities

Virtual Offerings

Summer Institute for Climate Change | July 15-17


Building Energy Modeling – Sketchbox as a teaching tool | 9 a.m. - 11:15 a.m., August 15

In-Person Offerings

Flip a Switch: Using Phenomenon to Engage Learners in Energy Education (Part of the Forestry and Energy for the Elementary Classroom) | 12:45 p.m. - 3:30 p.m., August 5 | Stevens Point



Connecting to Energy & New CTE Standards | 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., August 6 | Sun Prairie


Renewable Energy Education: KidWind Educator Workshop | Choose one of three dates

8 a.m. - 2 p.m., August 22, Cleveland

9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., October 3, Ashland

8 a.m. - 2 p.m. October 24, Menomonie

On-Demand Offerings

Energy Education: Concepts and Practices - Online Module


Solar Energy Potential: Dashboard Technology as a Teaching Tool for Inquiry - Online Module

Visit KEEP's PD List

FREE TICKETS!

The Midwest Renewable Energy Association's Energy Fair is the nation’s longest-running event of its kind. Part trade show, educational event, and grassroots festival, the Fair brings thousands of industry professionals and sustainable living enthusiasts together for workshops, exhibits, demonstrations, networking events, and much more.


KEEP will be hosting a KidWind mini-challenge at the Fair.


Wisconsin K-12 educators can use code EF24KEEP at checkout to get a FREE ticket to the Energy Fair!

Register

Wisconsin KidWind Teams take on the World

Photo courtesy of KidWInd

KEEP congratulates the Wisconsin KidWind teams that took home several awards at the World KidWind Challenge held May 5-8th in Minneapolis.


Careers in Clean Energy

As we come to the end of our series on Clean Energy Careers, check out the full bundle of Clean Energy Career Videos, including a video, lesson slideshow and worksheet. You can also see the full collection of resources at Slipstream.

View Collection

Partner Spotlight!

Shout out to our partner Focus on Energy! With a range of resources dedicated to saving energy, Focus on Energy helps schools, homes, and businesses improve their energy efficiency.


They also provide free energy-saving packs for residents of participating utilities. The packs include items like LED light bulbs, high-efficiency showerheads and pipe insulation.


Renew Our Schools is a 6-week energy conservation competition offered to Wisconsin schools through a partnership between KEEP, Resource Central and Focus on Energy. Focus on Energy provides financial support to participating schools. It reimburses the program enrollment fee and the eGauge datalogger installation cost (up to $1,200), enabling most schools to participate at no cost. 


An Energy Advisor from Focus on Energy visits with each school at the beginning of the competition, discussing school energy upgrades that have been done and possibilities for the future. The advisor works closely with schools' facilities managers and administration, providing information, resources and financial incentives to help implement energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.


Also check out their career exploration videos on HVAC and Solar.

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The KEEP program is funded with generous support by Alliant Energy, Madison Gas and Electric, We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, WPPI Energy, and Xcel Energy. 

KEEP_Updated August 2021

Published June 2024