Sustainability Counts! Math Awareness Month
Posted on April 16th, 2013 by Mary Lord
Sustainability is the theme of this year’s Mathematics Awareness Month. Teachers will find plenty of activities, contests, and other free educational resources that link math with environmental applications, including the Energy Challenge, which teaches students the mathematics of their school’s energy use and then has them develop and implement an action plan to reduce energy consumption.
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Tags: applications, Class Activities, Energy, Energy and Environmental Technology, Environmental Engineering, Internet Resources, Math, Mathematics, Mathematics Awareness Month, Sustainability Counts, Teacher Resources, Web Resources
Shell Eco-marathon is a global challenge that motivates students to drive farther than their peers on one gallon of fuel. Student teams participate in one or both of the Prototype and UrbanConcept classes. The Prototype class invites student teams to enter futuristic streamlined vehicles focused on maximizing fuel efficiency through innovative design elements, such as drag reduction.
Here’s a quick, fun video guide to environmental engineering produced by Channel One News. It explores the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and the museum’s signature fully planted roof. It also explains the engineering behind the temperature control system in the four-story interior rain forest and includes an interview with an environmental engineer and advice on how to prepare for a career like his. 
On a hike through the Catskill Mountains in New York, Aidan Dwyer, a seventh-grader, noticed that the branches of oak trees seemed to follow a pattern. Inspired, he created a tree-like arrangement of small solar panels capable of generating 20-50% more energy than a traditional flat designs.
The Environmental Protection Agency has a collection of materials that can be used to teach environmental topics like conservation, human health, stewardship, waste & recycling, and water. The EPA also offers publications, awards and grants, workshops, conferences, student scholarships, community service projects, and a club for kids.
Student teams in grades 9-11 gain a better understanding of heat transfer and engineering by designing and building solar water-heating devices that mimic those used in residences. Once the model devices are constructed, students perform efficiency calculations and compare designs.
The latest X-Prize Foundation multimillion-dollar engineering and invention contest will tackle the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, with entrants proposing solutions to shorelines and open water sullied by oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which has been gushing since April 20, 2010.
The Energy & Engineering Institute is a two-day hands-on workshop, August 9-10, 2010, for 20 middle school science and technology education teachers. The professional development will blend middle school science concepts for renewable energy with hands-on engineering design to raise awareness of the challenge to provide sustainable energy resources to meet growing world demand. Location: Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken. Application deadline: May 25, 2010. Stipend: $200; $110 classroom materials; professional development credit. No new information for 2011.
