Fourth-graders don’t know they’re learning – they’re too busy having fun

A little go-kart is conveying a big idea about what transportation and energy use might look like in the future.

After taking a spin in the solar-powered go-kart, students at John Newbery Elementary learn more about renewable energy from Chelan County PUD's Bob Bauer.

Each year in May, every fourth-grader in the Wenatchee School District gets to drive Chelan County PUD’s solar-powered go-kart. It’s part of a unit on electricity that culminates in a field trip to Rocky Reach Dam.

The go-kart, powered by a 600-watt solar panel, helps drive home the point that solar power can be used to perform many common tasks  – some mundane, and some exceedingly fun.

Led by PUD Education Specialist Bob Bauer, students list off the items in their classroom that use electricity: the pencil sharpener, coffeemaker, computers, and lights. Bauer tells them that solar panels installed permanently at their schools are generating enough electricity to power all those things.

The Alcoa Community Solar Endowment and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers installed solar arrays at all schools in the county in 2004-06.

Jim White, senior energy conservation engineer at the PUD, built the go-kart. It’s been used in classrooms for several years.

The field experience at Rocky Reach Dam is called River of Power. More than 700 fourth-graders from public and private schools in Chelan County participate in the four-day event. This year’s event is May 26-29.

Hands-on activities acquaint students with hydropower, the world of salmon, and basic principles of electricity generation. Students build model dams out of sand and cardboard, draw fish, measure the power of falling water and watch corn pop in a solar popper, among other lessons.

River of Power was developed in partnership with the Wenatchee School District. Teachers spend several weeks in the classroom each spring teaching about electricity, hydropower, the history of the Columbia River and renewable energy.

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A Tesla Roadster is scheduled to be on display during the Power Up Summit May 27-28.

The fifth annual Power Up Summit returns to the Wenatchee Center May 27 and 28.

Speakers will discuss recent developments in electric vehicles, community planning for electric charging stations, prospects for market growth, possible economic stimulus funding and related topics.

The show-and-tell of original and converted vehicles will include a Tesla Roadster,  Toyota Rav4, Ford Ranger, Toyota Echo,  Toyota Prius, International school bus, Electric A2B bicycle, Bad Boy Buggy ATV, Gorilla ATV, Allis Chalmers tractor and a Chevy S10 Blazer.  The vehicles will be parked behind the convention center for public viewing.

Speakers include Ed Kjaer, director of the Electric Transportation Division of Southern California Edison; Felix Kramer, founder of CalCars, and Dr. Andrew Frank, professor at the University of California-Davis who is largely regarded as the father of the plug-in hybrid car.

Cost is $225. Local residents who want to take in just part of the show can pay $25 to attend Wednesday’s luncheon at 11:30 a.m. with Ed Kjaer. Reservations should be made through the Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce at (509) 662-2116. 

The Power Up summit is an extension of the Port of Chelan County’s efforts to establish the county as a center for solar, biofuel and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technology.

More info: plugincenter.com

This 1948 tractor, converted to run on electricity, will be on display at the Power Up summit May 27-28.

A 1948 Allis Chalmers G tractor converted to run on electricity is weeding crops and tilling the soil in Chelan.

The tractor will be among about a dozen vehicles on display at the Power Up Summit at the Wenatchee Center May 27 and 28.

The tractor is owned by and used exclusively at Sunshine Farm, an organic farm in Chelan. The tractor was converted in the Wenatchee Valley College auto shop by volunteers from the local Advanced Vehicle Innovations group.

The electric vehicle components cost about $3,000. Four large 12-volt batteries power the tractor, while another small 12-volt battery powers the headlight (which has never been used).

Wenatchee Valley College added an electric vehicle charging station to its main parking lot during recent remodeling and expansion at the campus.