​Wake County’s Virtual Energy Camp Is Now In Session

Press release from the Wake County Government:

by Stephen R. Walston on 7/13/2020 7:00 AM
Category: WakeGOV Home Page

Rising
4th, 5th and 6th graders can participate in virtual activities all week long

Virtual field trips, conversations with
experts, hands-on experiments and more— all from home during Virtual Energy
Camp!

Today through Friday, Wake County will post a series of new
videos each morning at wakegov.com/EnergyCamp to teach kids
about energy in all its forms. Virtual field trips will range from wind energy
at Appalachian State University and water power at Historic Yates Mill County
Park – to Southern Energy Management’s solar panels and the Shearon Harris
Nuclear Power Plant that lights Wake County.

“With Energy Camp moving online this year due
to COVID-19, we’re amped at the opportunity to reach more campers than ever,”
said Evan Jones, who is leading the camp and teaches 5th grade at Heritage
Elementary. “We hope to spark an interest in these kids that will energize them
to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.”

In addition to lessons and virtual field trips,
each day’s schedule includes energy experiments kids can do at home, such as
building a futuristic car from recycled materials and crafting a solar oven to
cook s’mores.

Many activities can be completed with materials
found around the house, while others use kits. A full list is available online. Even if kids
don't have everything on hand, the activities are still informative and fun to
watch.

Campers are encouraged to share photos of their
creations on social media using the hashtag #EnergyCamp, or email them to EnergyCamp@wakegov.com to be shared by Wake County.

New content will be posted in the mornings.
Each afternoon at 1 p.m., camp leaders will host a webinar to allow campers to
ask follow-up questions and share what they learned.

Students heading into the 4th, 5th and 6th
grades will get the most out of the material. If kids miss a day, that’s okay!
We’ll leave the resources on our website to access at your own pace.

Registration isn’t required. Parents can sign up for email updates to
ensure they don’t miss each day’s new content.

For
26 years, the Wake County Energy Advisory Commission
has worked with corporate partners to hold Energy Camp and give children a
place to participate in a week's worth of energy-themed activities. Camp
usually costs $200 and is limited to 40 rising 6th graders. Due to the risk of
COVID-19, the Energy Advisory Commission will offer this year’s camp online for
free.

This press release was produced by the Wake County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.