
{"id":2978,"date":"2008-07-10T11:19:40","date_gmt":"2008-07-10T19:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=2978"},"modified":"2008-07-10T11:19:40","modified_gmt":"2008-07-10T19:19:40","slug":"freshmen-take-on-green-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2008\/07\/10\/freshmen-take-on-green-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"Freshmen take on green tech"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href='http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/resizedkidsa071008.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/resizedkidsa071008.jpg\" alt=\"Green Awakening Project students Ruth Pineda and Mariela Martinez construct a model bridge. Photo by Kirk Ross.\" width=\"150\" height=\"200\" align=\"left\" \/><\/a><em>by <strong>Susan Dickson <\/strong><br \/>\nStaff Writer<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This summer, rising freshmen from schools across Orange County are taking advantage of a new approach to learning math and science, building solar cars and constructing model bridges as part of the Communities in Schools Green Awakening Project.<\/p>\n<p>For the project, Communities in Schools staff worked with Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Orange County school staff to identify rising high school freshmen who traditionally do not enter advanced math and science classes.<br \/>\n<!--more--><br \/>\nThirty-five students entered the four-week program, which concludes Friday with a recognition ceremony. <\/p>\n<p>David Kahler, a graduate student at Duke who helped develop the curriculum for the program, said he and other program staff wanted to get students to participate in science and math studies with an environmental emphasis. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153That helped shape a lot of the activities that we designed for this camp,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. For instance, students designed and built small bridges that would hold a plastic \u00e2\u20ac\u0153truck,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d using as few materials as possible to ensure less waste and to maintain a certain budget.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, students made speakers to play music from iPods using two breadboards and wires. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Most of the lessons that accompanied that were about recycling electronics,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kahler said. <\/p>\n<p>Stephanie Bland, director of programs for Communities in Schools, said the program really focused on engaging the students.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153One of the things that keeps them excited is that all the projects are hands on,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They have these connections in the real world and the scholarly work.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>But the students didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t spend all their time in the classroom: They took field trips to N.C. State University, Duke University and N.C. Central University to learn about different environmental and scientific issues.<\/p>\n<p>At N.C. State, for example, students learned about gene isolation by testing their own DNA. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153They got to find out whether or not they were genetically predisposed to being morning people or night people,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kahler said. <\/p>\n<p>At Duke, students toured a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153smart home,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which is designed to be environmentally friendly. <\/p>\n<p>Students said they enjoyed the program because of all the hands-on projects they completed. <\/p>\n<p>Mariela Martinez, rising freshman at Cedar Ridge High School, said she really liked building the solar cars. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We did a 12-meter race,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Martinez said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was fun.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>She added that they also built solar ovens using information they learned in the classroom portion of the program.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been learning how to use the sun to save energy,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Martinez said. <\/p>\n<p>Cherry Bell said her favorite project was the one in which they made the speakers that they connected to iPods. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You had to pay real close attention,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If not, it wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>Although the summer program concludes this week, students will continue the project throughout the school year at their respective high schools. Staff divided the students into teams based on which high school they will attend so that they can continue to work together at school. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The program is not only to improve [the students\u00e2\u20ac\u2122] interest in math and science, but also to help with the ninth- and tenth-grade transition,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bland said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Kids need to be part of a team to excel.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>Dustin Deal, a program assistant with Communities in Schools, said they hope to get more support for the program as it grows into the high schools. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Eventually, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like for green businesses and biotechnologies to adopt the high school programs,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. <\/p>\n<p>The summer program was funded by grants from Strowd Roses, the Triangle Community Foundation, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. <\/p>\n<p>Deal added that they hope to run the summer Green Awakening Project again next year. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Things are looking up,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It should be here next year.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Student Quentin Fuller said he enjoyed the interactive aspect of the program.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more fun because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more hands on,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. <\/p>\n<p>Program teachers include engineering students from Duke, N.C. State, Clemson and UNC, as well as teachers from Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, Orange County Schools and area charter schools. Rising juniors and seniors from local high schools served as peer mentors for students in the program. <\/p>\n<p>Mark Moore, one of the teachers in the Green Awakening and a teacher at Woods Charter School, said he became interested in the program because of its unique approach to teaching. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I just thought the program was a really interesting idea,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s definitely a non-traditional approach that really works.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Susan Dickson Staff Writer This summer, rising freshmen from schools across Orange County are taking advantage of a new approach to learning math and science, building solar cars and constructing model bridges as part of the Communities in Schools Green Awakening Project. For the project, Communities in Schools staff worked with Chapel Hill-Carrboro and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-miscellany"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2978\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}