STEM Education

K-12 Teacher Professional Development and Curriculum

Proudly sponsored by NV Energy and Southwest Gas, EnergySmart Education hosts numerous outreach programs to K-12 schools throughout Nevada to teach and promote energy consumption awareness and energy conservation.

EnergySmart Education Community Energy Ambassador Project

The Community Energy Ambassador Project is an opportunity for 9th-12th grade Nevada students to utilize their talents to become local energy conservation stewards! The goal of the project is to engage high school students to think about and share messages of energy conservation and efficiency with their local community.

How to become an Energy Ambassador:

Assemble a team which consists of an adult mentor and youth ambassadors.
Work together to create a locally relevant energy conservation project.
Meet with DRI Faculty to discuss and iterate project.
Share your project with your local community and enter to win a prize and statewide recognition!

The EnergySmart Theater Troupe is a musical theater presentation for 2nd-3rd grade elementary classrooms in Nevada, sponsored by the Southwest Gas Corporation. Sing along with Lazy Lou the energy waster and a group of energy scientists as they learn about easy energy and water conservation techniques we can all implement. Prepare to have energy songs stuck in your head all day!

EnergySmart Education Home Kits

Calling ALL 4th Grade Teachers in northern and rural Nevada counties! – A FREE EnergySmart Home Kit is available to you!

This interactive energy activity reinforces energy conservation and water efficiency concepts from 4th grade Next Generation Science Standards. The program provides an engaging presentation from our own “Dr. Megawatt”, empowering students to be leaders in energy efficient behaviors in their daily lives.

For questions about this program, contact Shawna Witt at shawna.witt@dri.edu.

This program is made possible by the generous support of Southwest Gas Corporation.

EnergySmart Education High School PSA Competition

Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are flyers and videos created to raise awareness and change public attitudes and behavior toward a social issue. Effective PSAs often have a powerful message that sticks with the viewer, sometimes becoming part of a society’s collective norm. We host a yearly EnergySmart PSA contest for high school students throughout Nevada to help create awareness around energy conservation and efficiency.

To be notified of when the competition opens, please fill out our interest form here.

EnergySmart Education Middle School PSA Contest

Calling all middle school educators and organizations that serve middle school-aged students!

Are your students ready for their chance to shine with their performance of a lifetime? The EnergySmart Education program will be hosting a PSA Video Contest in the spring o f2024. Teams of 1-4 students are encouraged to create a short (under 2 min) video about the importance of saving energy here in Nevada and sharing ways the community can help save. You can check out our previous winners here.

To be notified of when the competition opens, please fill out our interest form here.

Curriculum and Resources

The Green Box program offers several energy efficiency and conservation focused curriculum boxes for use by Nevada educators. Available for a range of grades, each box helps students uncover how humans produce energy and learn strategies to reduce energy and water consumption in their daily lives. Interested in using an EnergySmart green box in your classroom? Visit our Green Box page.

The contents of a Science Alive Green Box

Each Green Box is a self-contained teaching kit that provides educators with a unit of lesson plans along with all of the necessary supplies.

Sponsors:

Other Support From:

Southern Nevada Water Authority
Springs Preserve
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Envirolution
Government Office of Energy

CONTACT

Shawna Witt
STEM Education Coordinator
Shawna.Witt@dri.edu