Clean Energy Gets a Makeover (And a Personality!)

Ever tried explaining renewable energy to a room full of third graders? Let’s just say… the wind turbine isn’t the only thing spinning.

This year, I decided to bring sustainability to life in a way my students could see and feel, by creating actual renewable energy characters. Not just facts and figures, but actual personalities. A beaming solar panel with a sunny attitude. A chill water turbine that goes with the flow. A compost-loving, slightly messy biomass friend. Suddenly, clean energy wasn’t so abstract; it had faces, voices, and quirks.

I am hoping these new characters prompt kids to ask questions. Big ones. “Can solar panels talk to each other?” “What if the wind turbine gets dizzy?” And while not scientifically relevant, those types of questions mean they will be engaged—and that’s where the magic happens.

Creating these characters was one of the most energizing (pun absolutely intended) experiences I’ve had when developing curriculum as a Sustainable Energy Teacher because it reminded me that good teaching doesn’t have to be complicated…it just has to connect.