Lancaster, PA - Educators' Workshop

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding an Arconic facility in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Intermediate Unit (IU) 13, a regional education resources agency for the Lancaster-Lebanon area, hosted this workshop at their conference center.  IU 13 works closely with regional districts and was able to pinpoint outreach through district leaders to the immediate Lancaster area and to the most high need schools.  All of the 14 participating teachers from seven schools from the School District of Lancaster, as well as their science curriculum director worked together to determine a methodology for how these materials could most effectively be distributed throughout the year.

On the day of the workshop, teachers explored renewable energy content with three culminating hands-on activities throughout the day.  These three activities were: 1) the construction of solar ovens with an engineering design challenge to make the most effective containers, 2) building solar circuits to collect data indicating the function of series and parallel types and 3) the completion of a full engineering design cycle while constructing solar cars.  Teachers collaborated across disciplines; one exciting result of this experience was a discussion of new life science activities associated with solar energy and renewables.  Through their participation in this workshop, teachers received access to a district-wide kit valued at $5,000, as well as ACT 48 credit hours and a substitute reimbursement. The teachers reported that they anticipate engaging over 1,700 students with the new renewable energy content and science kits.

Arconic Foundation is proud to support Solar 4R Schools and bring this innovative program to Arconic communities nationwide. The mission of the Arconic Foundation is to advance science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and skills training worldwide, with a special emphasis on engaging and creating access for underrepresented and underserved groups. Through our partnerships, we are helping to change the perception of manufacturing by creating excitement around the rewarding career opportunities available to the next generation of talent – from career and technical education to the most advanced robotics and digital manufacturing. Solar 4R Schools is a proven and innovative model that we believe can bring to life the issues and solutions around energy management. Energy is a critical component of what we do in industry and in all of our personal lives – it is a topic that we want our youth educated about so that they can solve the problems of tomorrow.