Mobile Museum PowerPoint Presentation Discussion

Transcription

1 1 Mobile Museum PowerPoint Presentation Discussion Grades: K-2 Summary: The Mobile Museum (MoMu) is an RV converted into a mobile exhibit highlighting University of Iowa research. Funded by the University of Iowa, the MoMu travels to different schools and fairs, even stopping during RAGBRAI. This year the MoMu exhibits are: German Iowa, Wealth of Health: From Iowa to the World, and Hawkeye Power: Clean Energy for Iowans. This document provides teachers with a set of questions to be asked when using the PowerPoint presentation (see pages 5-7). Teachers can use these materials with students prior to, during and following their visit with the MoMu. Renewable Fuels Prior to Exhibit Engagement: The Renewable Fuels PowerPoint presentation engages students in thinking about how everyday items are powered by a variety of different materials. Through this engagement, students begin to develop an understanding of the concept of energy and where it comes from. During Exhibit Engagement: In the Mobile Museum exhibit, students identify and compare a variety of fuel sources including miscanthus, oat hulls, wood chips, and coal. Students identify differences in the carbon cycle of burning biomass versus coal. Post Exhibit Engagement: During class discussion, students recall their individual observations in the Mobile Museum exhibit to identify a variety of sources of fuel and how some of these sources are renewable and some are not.

2 2 Prior to Exhibit Engagement Questions Connection to Human Body How do you get energy for your body to function? What type of fuel does your body use to provide you energy? What are some things that you eat or drink that give you energy? o Some students may have the misconception that energy is fuel o Fuel is only one source of energy. It is not energy itself. Connection to Transportation Students identify how types of transportation, such as trains, get energy. Old Fashioned Train What is this? What type of fuel does this train use? Ask the students to look for something in the museum that could be burned instead of coal. Post Exhibit Engagement Questions Coal versus Renewable Fuels Did anyone see coal in the Mobile Museum? What is coal? Why are we looking for alternative fuels for coal? What plants did you see at the museum that could be used instead of coal? Do we want to use more coal or more plants for fuel? o Why? Wind Energy Prior to Exhibit Engagement The Wind Turbine PowerPoint presentation engages students in thinking about how wind turbines move and what they do by making a comparison to a pinwheel, something they may have seen before. During Exhibit Engagement Guide students to the interactive wind turbine activity in the Mobile Museum. o In the exhibit students will have the opportunity to push a button that will cause the blades on a miniature wind turbine to spin. As the blades of the turbine spin, LEDs will light up. The faster the blades move, the more LEDs will light up. Post Exhibit Engagement Through class discussion, students will make a connection between the wind they produce to move a pinwheel and the wind that is needed to move a wind turbine. o The connection between wind and wind turbines is reinforced when students observe that the faster the wheel is turned, the greater number of LEDs light up.

3 3 Prior to Exhibit Engagement Questions Connection to Pinwheels Have you seen this before? What is it? Where have you seen it? What does it do? How does it work? Connection to Wind Turbines Have you seen this before? What is it? Where have you seen it? What does it do? How does it work? Post Exhibit Engagement Questions Did you see a model of a wind turbine in the exhibit? What did it do? How did it work? Did any of you get the light to shine when you pushed the button on the wind turbine display? What does this mean? Where can we find wind turbines? Do you think Iowa is a good place for wind turbines? Why? Why are scientists at the University of Iowa designing wind turbines? Efficient Building Design Prior to Exhibit Engagement The Building Efficiency PowerPoint engages students in thinking about how clothes trap heat from their bodies. They will recognize that winter clothes will trap more heat than summer clothes. Students will begin thinking about the concept of insulation without using the word insulation. Here, they will make the connection between clothes and insulation. o Clothes keep bodies warm, as insulation keeps homes warm. During Exhibit Engagement Encourage students to look for the thermal imaging camera and advise them to aim it at the different building materials in the exhibit. o Have students point the gun at themselves as well, to see how much heat is emitted. Using the thermal imaging camera, students will be able to observe how much thermal radiation (heat) is coming off of their own bodies as well as how much is coming through the different materials.

4 4 This will show students that not all materials will keep themselves or their homes warm. Students will start thinking about the reason different materials are used to insulate their homes. Post Exhibit Engagement Through class discussion about their observations, Students will understand that different materials can be used to insulate (layer) houses and other buildings. Students will determine which of the materials presented in the Mobile Museum would be best to insulate (layer) a building with and why. o Different materials trap heat more effectively than others. o Similar to why we do not wear tank tops in the winter. Prior to Exhibit Engagement Questions Connection to Human Body When it is cold outside, what kinds of clothes do you wear (i.e. long sleeve shirts, gloves, earmuffs, hats, sweatshirts)? Do you wear more layers when it is cold than you would wear when it is warm? Why do you wear extra layers? Why do you feel warmer when you wear more layers? Connection to Houses What keeps your house warm in the winter? Would your house still feel warm if it was made out of leaves? o Why or why not? Post Exhibit Engagement Questions When you played with the infrared gun, what material let the most amount of heat through? Why? What material would you want your homes to be made of to keep you warm in the winter? Putting It All Together Prior to Exhibit Discussion Question What do all these topics have in common? Why is renewable energy important? Why is wind a better energy source than coal? Why other types of fuel can we use to power planes, trains, and cars? Why does it matter what our homes are made of?

5 5 PowerPoint Slides Renewable Fuels How do you get energy? How do you get energy? What are some foods and drinks that give you energy? What foods or drinks give you more energy than others? How do planes, cars, and boats get energy? How do planes, cars, and boats get energy? What is this? How does the train get energy to move? How does the train get energy from coal?

6 6 Wind Turbines What is this? Where have you seen these before? How does it work? How does it work? What are these? Where have you seen these before? How do these work? How do these work? Energy Efficiency

7 7 When it is cold outside, how do you keep warm? Do you wear more clothes in the winter or in the summer? What keeps your home warm in the winter? Background Information and Resources Biomass All types of Biomass used at the University of Iowa are being co-fired with coal Miscanthus o A 12-foot tall grass, can be used on marginal crop land o Established on 2,500 acres will reduce 22,500 tons of coal used Wood Chips o Are taken from undesirable trees o 3,000 tons of wood chips are produced with 2,000 tons being actually used because the fuel boiler requires small chips 1 inch or less with no twigs or branches. o There is currently a 20% by volume blend of wood chips and coal for cofiring being used at a plant in Muscatine, Iowa. The University of Iowa is researching different types of fuel and their sustainability, including the types of plants seen at the Mobile Museum. o Industrial Organic Byproducts

8 8 o Byproducts, such as oat hulls from the production of cereals, are commonly unusable by most companies. o It can be produced locally, involving little to no transportation and involving no drilling or strip mining which is the process to extract coal from the earth. Student misconceptions about energy o II-Lessons/energy-misconceptions-PDF.pdf Wind Energy Wind is created by uneven heating of the Earth s surface by the sun Wind energy is a clean and renewable energy source Iowa has the second highest wind capacity in the United States at 6,212 MW, but is the nation leader in wind energy usage at 31%. o o Wind turbines can be built with 1, 2, or 3 blades, but wind turbines with 3 blades are the most efficient, and are what we most commonly see today By using more wind energy we can reduce carbon emissions and conserve water, which is used to cool power plants The Midwest has very strong wind speeds making it perfect for wind energy

9 9 Wind energy has been around for a long time o Windmills- which were used to mill grain or pump water o World s oldest windmill-persia AD o Building of a Wind Turbine o Building Design Heat moves from a spot of higher temperature to a spot of lower temperature, this is why in the summer, when the windows in houses are open the house is hot (the heat from outside travels to the cooler inside of the house); in the winter, if the windows were open the house would be cold (the heat from the inside of the house travels to the cooler outside of the house). The type and thickness of material are two key factors that traps heat in the home. o o While a thicker material generally traps heat better than a thinner material, thickness does not necessarily mean it is best for keeping something warm. The type of material matters as well. For example, Nylon rain coats are thinner than denim, but keep you warmer because the strands of fabric are closer together. This prevents heat from escaping without moving through the material.

10 10 External resources/links: Link to building design article featuring Dr. Craig Just from the University of Iowa: Online game students can play with parental permission (requires and internet access):