With the purpose of sowing a “seed that germinates,” the community organization Village House This will give way, in the newly started school year, to a “pilot project” aimed at familiarizing high school students with the fundamental concepts of solar energy through practical and theoretical exercises.
Named “My solar seedling”The initiative – for now – consists of a small photovoltaic system, accompanied by a storage battery, with which young people will be able to work directly, as well as a module-type notebook that illustrates the basic elements of solar energy production. In the future, however, the idea is that schools can receive their own seedling and generate energy while students learn, in a practical way, how it works.
“A few years ago, we did the Solar Forest “As a sculptural, but functional manifestation, to comply with what Casa Pueblo always does in the educational part, as that accompaniment that has to exist with ideas. At that time, we thought that it was not only necessary to wait for the generation (of students) to arrive at Casa Pueblo and see what is happening in Adjuntas, a solar town, but also the importance of directly influencing the public and private schools that, weekly, go to Casa Pueblo, and we then proposed the germinated seeds of the Solar Forest as this concept of ‘My solar seedling’,” explained the executive director of the entity, Arturo Massol Deya.
Casa Pueblo received the first physical unit of the seedling just two weeks ago, but they hope – with the support of the cooperative sector – to clone the equipment and, in the near future, amplify its educational impact.
For the moment, in the “pilot phase” of the project, which will extend throughout this semester, Casa Pueblo hopes to reach agreements with five schools – public or private – so that their students can observe first-hand the operation of a photovoltaic system.
“We have five open dates to coordinate with Casa Pueblo during this semester, which will be a pilot semester. We will be using this unit in case we need to make some kind of physical adjustment, to see how the experience goes,” said the professor of the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez Campus (RUM).
The development of the curriculum that accompanies the seedling laboratory exercises was led by Siren Montalvoa graduate of UPRM and former teacher at the Casa Pueblo Forest School.
“The idea is that Sirena will be visiting these five schools, with the solar module, between September and early Decemberto have an experience with accompaniment. When we have clones of ‘My solar seedling’, we will have a second format –which we hope will be in January–, which would include a visit, but the seedling would stay at the school for a reasonable time so that the students can experiment and, then, Sirena would go to see the ‘harvest’”, said Massol Deyá.
In its third phase, the collaborating schools could keep the seedling “permanently”so that, “semester after semester, teachers can, perhaps in schools with established science programs, delve deeper and integrate it into their Physics, Environmental Sciences or Biology classes.”
Students as protagonists
Montalvo stressed that the curriculum is designed for high school students, but that, in the future, They hope to adapt it to intermediate gradesThe 122-page workbook presents an introduction to the concepts of solar energy, the components of a photovoltaic system and its benefits, as well as practical and theoretical exercises on the seedling and the terms associated with energy, such as power, circuits and current.
“In developing the curriculum, for me, it was very important to do it for the student. This is not a teacher’s notebook, but was designed with the student as the protagonist of the activities. The teacher is going to be the facilitator, the helper and the guide. It is written and designed –with the help of Trembling– with the student participating in each of the learning stages and vocabulary up to experimentation with the use of the system,” said Montalvo, who indicated that, due to its characteristics, the curriculum is adapted to math and science courses.
Tembol was the company that collaborated with the design and layout of the notebook, of which around 300 copies will be printed initially, but which is already available on the Casa Pueblo website.
“The publication is designed in a light way, with a large text size, it has constant messages. Part of the challenge was to transfer that to the physical seedling, how we could achieve that, as Sirena said, the cables have to be seen,” he said. Ramdwin Melendezpartner and design director of Tembol.
The manufacture of the seedling, meanwhile, was carried out by FORMATTERIA LLCfounded by Luisel Zayaswho described the job of printing the module as “quite easy.”
“In the design part, what we did were certain adjustments and recommendations, based on materials that were more durable for the climate of Puerto Rico and to ensure that the seedling did not present any danger, such as a corner being too sharp, (since) it is a project within a school context,” Zayas emphasized.
The seedling design, in turn, was selected for exhibition at the Ibero-American Design Biennialwithin the category of “Transversal Design”, to be held in Madrid in October.
“It is a first step in how we, through design, can transform conventional educational systems and allow these young people and children to approach with greater connection,” Meléndez stressed, while Massol Deyá pointed out that there are already groups in New York that have approached her to implement a similar model in education on renewable energy projects.