Grades 2–12
Support from:
O'Connell Electric Company
Rochester Gas & Electric
RMSC Volunteers & Community Partners
ESL Federal Credit Union
NYS Learning Standards:
MST: 1, 4PS(3,4,5), LE(7), 6, 7
CDOS: 1, 2
ELA: 1, 3, 4
SS: 1, 4
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What is energy? Where does it come from and how do we use it? What does the future hold for our energy needs, and what can we do to make a difference? Students explore these questions and more in this fully interactive exhibition developed and built by RMSC staff and volunteers. Energy sources, forms and transformations are presented in a way that engages the whole body so that students can truly feel the energy required to power their world, and understand the choices they can make to impact the future.
Supporting Curriculum
COMING SOON
A full list of the numerous interactive and/or informative components to ENERGIZE it is below:
- An introduction to energy describes what it is, its various forms, and sources.
- Energy misconceptions chart helps visitors distinguish between facts and myths about types of energy such as "green" or nuclear.
- Combustion engine timeline details how energy use in the automotive industry has responded to different social pressures, and how the Rochester, NY region plays a role.
- The Grid explains how power gets distributed from the power plant to industries and homes.
- The RMSC light bulb collection shows the development of incandescent light bulb design and standards over time, from the 1890s through present day.
- At Insulation a students use an infrared camera to identify heat loss and compare efficiencies of different types of home insulation.
- A touchscreen kiosk includes both the Department of Energy's "Energy Kids" website and the "Power Up" game, created by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for Kinetic City (www.kineticcity.com).
- A Solar Car raceway where two cars compete using solar energy and demonstrate the transformation of energy.
- At the Wind Turbine Lab students can experiment with various turbine designs to harness wind motion to generate electricity.
- A Bicycle Generator allows visitors to pedal and read the electrical output in watts and volts.
- At the Wave Pendulum visitors swing a pendulum and create waves to learn about how energy travels.
- A Bike-Powered Refrigeration Compressor allows students to truly "feel" the transformation of energy in a system..
- Track the energy production of the RMSC's Solar Panels viewed through cameras on the roof.
- At Brighter Bulbs, a comparison among incandescent, compact fluorescent and LED bulbs shows the differences in efficiencies and the the difference in energy transformations.
- Energy dioramas show different types of energy production and use in an everyday setting—a waterfall or a wind turbine field, for example.
- Careers in energy information area sets visitors on a path to a bright future.
- Nuclear energy information and examples area.
- The Power House shows the various ways you can conserve, and even generate, energy at home..
- An Object Case contains large-scale selections from RMSC's collections that are historic predecessors of modern conveniences, like a non-electric vacuum cleaner and an animal treadmill.