"I think it will really help the kids see where energy comes from and the importance of conserving it," Metcalf said. "For the most part they think oil comes from the ground. This will teach them where it came from and why it could eventually run out."
Metcalf will purchase instructional DVDs and science equipment that includes jars and chemicals to measure the oxygen and pay for a research field trip to Whittier Narrows in October, she said.
The trip will take the students down to the bottom level of the energy pyramid, she said.
"That's where we get all our energy," Metcalf said. "I love hands-on learning. With science, it's really the only way to go. It's interactive and should be taught interactively."
At the end of the project, her 60 students will produce a magazine about energy awareness using information they learned at the field trip.
Traeger's students will use some sophisticated equipment this fall to measure the strength and effects of the sun's radiation on Earth, thanks to another $10,000 energy-education grant from BP America, one of the world's largest energy-providing companies.BP America provided $1.5 million in $10,000 and $5,000 grants to teachers in California who applied with innovative proposals on how they would use the money to teach energy and energy-conservation, BP spokesman Phil Cochrane said.
Traeger will use his grant to purchase a computer-based package of instruments to measure the sun's radiation and what things affect that, he said.
"What affects solar radiation?" he said of measuring bursts of energy from the sun. "What changes them? What makes them higher in one case and lower in another? Aerosols can block out atmospheric solar activity. So we will study things like sun spots and space weather and the general output of the sun."
The practical learning and application is especially good for his students.
"I think students learn a lot more when they have a teacher working with them," he said. "And they see the science is real and the type of stuff I teach lends itself to that. Most students here are high-achieving, but my students need a hands-on curriculum that gets them involved so they will go out and read the book. This is also indicative of what they might be doing in a future job."
The 3-year-old grant program was founded in California and because of its success, BP America will expand the program to Texas next year.
BP officials started the grant program in California because of its progressive education system and the company's high profile in the state, Cochrane said.
The program has affected more than 175,000 California students, he said.
"This program will be judged in the future by how our children use energy," he said.
