As you are well aware, renewable energy is gaining more and more attention as we look for ways to conserve natural resources and provide reliable power sources. Renewable energy sources include solar, geothermal, biomass, wind, and hydropower. With the increasing importance of this topic, how do we teach it to our students and get them excited about it? For starters, this topic should be included as an important part of STEM education. Students need to understand the differences between renewable and non-renewable energy sources and how each source works. Engaging, hands-on projects are a great way to make this happen. In this article, we will explore some hands-on solutions designed to teach students about renewable energies.

Renewable Energy: Hands-on Learning

fischertechnik education offers a variety of action-oriented sets that can be used to teach about renewable energies. Sets are available for primary and secondary students. These sets can be used to teach and engage students with a project-based learning approach.

Solar Energy

The fischertechnik Education Solar Energy Class set provides a fun, hands-on way to explore solar energy with younger students in the classroom.

Perfect for primary education, this set allows you to teach the basics of renewable energies. Included in this classroom set you’ll find 16 individual sets. Suitable for a class size of around 30 students. You will also have access to teaching materials, lesson plans, and ten fun experiments. Students will learn how energy is generated from renewable solar energy and explore both series and parallel connections.

With this set, students can easily build three different models that will make it easier to teach them the basic principles of solar energy. There are a variety of fully designed tasks (with solutions), that can lead them to a variety of discoveries along the way. With this set, you can also teach your students about the factors that influence the generation of solar electricity, how solar systems can be optimized, and explain that solar power is a direct current.

Middle & High School Solutions

The STEM Renewable Energy set from fischertechnik education dives deeper into renewable energies.

Ideal for secondary education. Each STEM Renewable Energies set can be used by a group of two to four students. Teaching materials, lesson plans, and 28 experiments are available. This set provides the components needed to build nine models including a hand generator, water turbine, charging fuel station, and a wind turbine.

With this set, students learn how electricity can be generated in an environmentally friendly manner. They explore how a fuel cell works. They are taught how this fuel cell can be used to generate hydrogen.  Renewable energies are the most important energy sources of the future. The generation, storage, and use of electricity from the natural energy sources of water, wind, and sun are clearly explained.

STEM Education Solutions

fischertechnik Education allows an assortment of learning kits for STEM education. These hands-on solutions are available for learners of all ages. Starting from kindergarten and elementary school, right through middle school, high school, college, and university. They even have industrial simulation solutions that are used in a variety of industries that are designed to teach and demonstrate high-end automated systems.