RECHARGE ACADEMY HARRISONBURG, VA JULY 23-27, 2018 - REcharge Labs

RECHARGE   HARRISONBURG, VA
ACADEMY    JULY 23–27, 2018

About This REcharge Academy
We are partnering with our long-time friend Remy Pangle at the Virginia Center for Wind Energy to host this event. As
always, we strive to offer scholarships to as many applicants as we can through industry sponsorships. The focus of
the Academy will be wind and solar education for K–12 informal and formal educators, as well as Maker/Tinkerer/Fablab
educators. We use many approaches from inquiry-based to project-based learning, so that attendees are guaranteed a
hands-on experience for understanding wind and solar power.

Some of this year's highlights include:

     • Learning basic circuits by designing solar houses with smart features
     • Building wind turbines that run small lights, motors, and water pumps
     • Learning about friction and resistance, load factors, and power storage by building solar rovers and running over
       terrain
     • Working with the Power Grid Kit to explore systems thinking, electric vehicle charging and energy efficiency
     • Participating in events such as the Offshore Wind Turbine Challenge, KidWind Challenge, and Renewable Energy
       Festivals
     • Creating stop motion animations and screening them to your peers
     • Guest speakers and tours
     • Academy celebration dinner and happy hour
     • Conversation and collaboration with peers
     • And so much more!

Why Attend a REcharge Academy?
Our REcharge Academy is a unique opportunity for educators to develop a robust understanding of wind and solar power.
Attendees learn how to integrate engaging educational materials to teach about renewable energy into their classrooms.

Renewable energy is gaining traction as a viable option in the United States. Yet many gaps still remain in the public
understanding of energy in general and how these emerging energy sources will impact our future and mitigate climate
change. We need to build informed public understanding of energy and its impact on society and the planet. REcharge
Labs works directly with educators because we know that when educators have the tools and knowledge to affect
student understanding, the impact extends into the larger community.

   2018 REcharge Academy Location
   Harrisonburg, VA: July 23-27, 2018

   James Madison University
   800 S Main Street
   Harrisonburg, VA 22807

   REcharge Labs will host this REcharge Academy in
   partnership with the Virginia Center for Wind Energy
   at James Madison University.

                                                                                        REcharge Academy, 2018           2

Why Combine Making with Renewable Energy?
Here at REcharge Labs, we believe that making and tinkering are essential skills for understanding, improving, and
reshaping the designed world we live in. By engaging the curiosity, interests, and needs of students and teachers, we
encourage thoughtful learning experiences and prompt more informed decision makers, active doers, and creative problem
solvers. There are no easy answers to our most pressing social, political, and environmental issues about climate change.
In order to teach, learn, and make a difference in our energy usage and carbon footprint, multiple learning approaches are
required to comprehend as well as investigate possible solutions.

What to Expect
By engaging in hands-on activities during the Academy, attendees will have a safe space in which to learn, to fumble, and
to ask questions of their peers and REcharge staff. This provides attendees with a first-hand experience of the challenges
their students will face when these activities are brought into their classroom. This also provides opportunities for
attendees to modify the activities to fit their specific environments.

The two main goals of the annual REcharge Academy are to help teachers integrate renewable energy subjects in their
classrooms and to increase local understanding of the social, technical, and scientific issues facing the modern energy
industry. We do this at a REcharge Academy by:
     • Helping educators understand sources and forms of energy, how the world generates and consumes energy, and
       complex issues surrounding renewable energy sources.
     • Offering activities that make it interesting and engaging for teachers and students to explore these issues.
     • Preparing educators to act as local hubs of information for their individual communities.
During the week-long Academy, participants learn about electricity, generators, energy usage, efficiency, wind and solar
power development, and the real-world applications of these clean energies. They will engage in this through:
     •   Hands-on instruction
     •   Experiments and evaluations
     •   Lectures
     •   Field trips and tours
     •   Peer discussion and collaboration
     •   Meetings with industry experts and speakers

                                                                                           REcharge Academy, 2018          3

Application details
You may apply to attend a REcharge Academy once registration has opened. Please check the event page for these details.

Registration Costs
The costs for teachers to attend the 2017 REcharge Academy are broken down according to accomodation type:
     • Double room: $1500
     • Single room: $1750
     • Commuter (those not needing meals or a place to stay or meals): $1100
These registration fees do not cover travel to and from the training location. Please check the event webpage for updates
and more details on what else will be included. If you are interested in bringing a spouse or partner to stay with you but not
attend the training, you must request a single room and pay the single room rate.

Registration costs include the following:
     •   Lodging in dorms from Sunday July 22 to Saturday July 28
     •   Food from Sunday Dinner July 22 to Saturday Breakfast July 28
     •   $250 in gear
     •   Tuition for the course

Credit
We are currently able to offer a certificate verifying 40 hours of contact time. We are also working on options for teachers
to get credit hours.

Scholarships
Scholarships will be posted on the event page as they are announced. We are constantly seeking funding opportunities in
order to provide scholarships. Scholarship decisions are made on a rolling basis and we get new scholarships all the time. You
may apply to receive a scholarship even if none are available at the time you apply. We cannot promise that we will be able
to fund you, but we will try our best!

                                                                                             REcharge Academy, 2018         4