Maine Energy Education Program receives $30,000 grant from OEIS

Are you interested in increasing awareness in your school about how we can use energy in an efficient and green manner? The Maine Energy Education program (MEEP) can help bring energy use awareness, skills and action to students and teachers of K-12 schools in Maine through hands on learning.

The Maine Energy Education Program is a not-for-profit, 501(C)(3) organization. It began in 1985 with the goal of producing an energy literate citizenry capable of making informed energy choices. To this end, MEEP offers experiential energy education programs for Maine students and teachers. These programs, which are mostly free, help participants to understand the balance between the economic, environmental and social impacts of energy choices affecting our society by bringing awareness, skills and action to students and teachers. MEEP enjoys strong support from Maine's environmental community, which understands the inextricable link between energy use and environmental consequences.

You might ask- how is it that MEEP can provide these energy education programs for Maine Students? MEEP received a $30,000 grant from the Governors Energy Office (OEIS) to fund their programs. During the January to March quarter, MEEP full-time staff saw a total of 1,731 students in 90 classes for their programs funded by the OEIS grant. This puts them 86% toward their goal of reaching 2,000 students and 90% toward their goal of teaching 100 classes by June 30, 2012. Listed below are presentations done by MEEP.

Energy and the Environment
• Electricity & the Environment- 57 presentations in 6 schools to 1,046 students (Palmer Putnam, Apple Battery, Mini Wind Turbine and PV Fan. Extension: Energy Icebreaker.)
• Workshop- 7 workshops to 269 students (Icebreaker, Debate, E&E, Jeopardy.)
• KidWind- 3 presentations in 3 schools to 102 students (students build their own wind turbine blades. This is usually done in conjunction with the Mini Wind Turbine activity.)
• My Light- 14 presentations in 6 schools to 253 students (reading of My Light by Molly Bang, Mini Wind Turbine, PV Fan.)
• Global Energy Game- 2 presentations to 36 students at 1 school (students try to balance the three E’s: Energy, Environment, and Economy.)

Climate Change- Funded by the Laird Norton Family Foundation
• Climate Change 101- 1 presentation to 21 students (soda bottle experiment, CO2 tag Farm or CO2 Board Game, testing human breath and car exhaust for CO2.)
• Climate Change 201- 7 presentations to 158 students at 1 school (students learn how climatologists study past climates.)
• Climate Change 301- 18 presentations to 411 students in 4 schools (HOBO Energy Experiment, PowerPoint, Carbon Footprint.)

Green Schools
• Skills Training- 14 sessions with 316 students at 7 schools (Tools taught include Light Meter, Kill A Watt Meter, IR Thermometer, and HOBO Data Logger.)
• Energy Patrol- 5 patrols started with 94 students (Skills Session, Energy Patrol introduction and skit.)
• School Energy Efficiency Investigation- 1 investigation launched with 17 students (Kill-A-Watt, Light Meter, IR Thermometer, HOBO.)
• Teacher Workshops- 2 Project Learning Tree GreenSchools! workshops (in East Machias and Poland) which reached a total of 10 participants.

Transportation & the Environment
• Alternative Fuels- 2 presentations to 21 students in 2 schools (NOVA Video, Fuel Cell Cars, PowerPoint, Jeopardy.)
• Junior Solar Sprint- 1 mentor workshop with 3 teachers and 2 work sessions with approximately 15 students.

For more information about programs being offered by MEEP check out their website