Youth Environmental Technology Education
Organization:
South End Tech Center @ Tent City VISTA Name:
Angela Perondi Pitel
Program Start:
8/2003
Program End:
8/2004
Project Description:
The main goal of the Fuel Cell education initiative at the South End technology Center is to promote access and to expose the youth, at an early age, to science and cutting-edge technologies. Our goal is to grant access of new technologies to students of color that make up 85% of Boston school’s population and are frequently left behind. We want to bring the youth from behind and position them at the front end of this emerging technology and into the environmental issues that are significant in our society today.
The fuel cell education program is working on three different fronts to reach this goal:
• Primarily, we are aiming to work closely with educational institutions such as the Boston Renaissance Charter School and the Boston Public Schools to develop and implement a fuel cell technology unit for the middle school students. The idea is to promote a change in their awareness of the technology, and create access to a broader number of students throughout the school system.
• The program also exposes the children attending the SETC to this forefront technology. The fuel cell is considered one of the most promising energy technologies of the future.
• In addition, we are attempting to reach the broader community and make them aware of fuel cell technology and its potential by participating in the AltWheels Festival (alternative transportation festival). We will be exhibiting fuel cell car models and talking about the technology and its potential to the general public.
Project Outcome:
Angela’s accomplishments included the development of a 100- page curriculum unit that included a Teacher’s Guide and a Student’s Guide for middle school students (8th grade level) on hydrogen fuel cells and engineering design technologies. The development of the curriculum unit was the stepping stone to establishing stronger relationships with institutions such as the Boston Renaissance Charter School, the Boston Public Schools, and the Roxbury Community College.
The development of this curriculum unit was just the start of several initiatives designed to share the knowledge of this technology with students, teachers and young adults. Angela had the opportunity to teach the unit to an after school class with students enrolled at the New Beginners after school program at Roxbury Community College (RCC). The after school program reinforces environmental technology education at the community level, where students from 13 to 16 years old learn about clean energy technology.