The science in electricity: Science and global education for youth
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EmailThe science of electricity is both interesting and educational for youth and because it is not a common luxury for all individuals in the world, it’s important to understand this valuable commodity.
With so much dependency on technology; what do you do when the power goes out? Youth need to know where this energy comes from, understand what the variety of energy sources are and understand that not everyone has or uses electricity. What do people that do not believe in the use of electricity, such as an Amish family for example, use for energy? What does your family do if the power goes out for more than one day? Where does the electricity come from and how did it come to exist? What form of energy is used the most in the area you live in? Do you use coal, wind energy, nuclear, natural gas, oil or solar? What is the best source of energy that is safest for the earth’s natural resources?
West Virginia 4-H Youth Development has a global education activity called “Power Outage!” that builds awareness on how people live, work and play without electricity. Researching the issue on the internet can uncover a number of nonprofit organizations like OneMillionLights whose mission is to improve the daily lives of children and adults by providing clean and healthy lighting.
Michigan State University (MSU) Extension Natural Resources offers many interesting topics on green energy. MSU Extension’s 4-H Science and Technology programming offers many educational opportunities in relation to energy in the state of Michigan and National 4-H.
A 4-H Science workshop is offered annually at the Kettunen Center for youth and adults to participate in. So many educational and interesting questions can be asked that youth can learn from. By providing youth science education in the area of energy, it is important for the global awareness, a possible future career goal and for the future environment.
