8 Renewable Energy SPARKlab Activities

This is the High School version of Horizon's Renewable Energy SPARKlab series. View the Family of Products page for information regarding the Middle School SPARKlabs.

Connect students to a world where clean energy is essential through Horizon Renewable Energy SPARKlabs. 8 activities help to develop an understanding of renewable energy.

• Solar
  • How heat affects energy production from a solar cell
  • How tilt angle of a solar panel affects energy production
  • How shading a solar panel affects energy production
• Wind
  • How the pitch of turbine blades affect energy production
  • How the surface area of turbine blades affect energy production
• Hydrogen Fuel Cell
  • Compare the voltage output of a fuel cell versus a battery
  • Voltage required for water decomposition

The Company – Horizon Fuel Cell

Horizon Fuel Cell is a company dedicated to bring commercially viable, clean hydrogen fuel cell power to the public. Horizon's education kits are used to explain renewable energy science in a classroom environment. PASCO has partnered with Horizon to offer SPARKlabs on renewable energy for high schools.

Created in partnership with Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, these 8 SPARKlabs cover solar, wind and hydrogen fuel cell environmental science activities. Perform each lab using the materials included in the renewable energy kit along with the SPARK Science Learning System.

Designed to guide High School students through the process of investigation and promote critical thinking and group discussion, these standards-based, teacher-designed SPARKlabs include:

• Background science content
• Setup guidance
• Seamless integration with data collection and analysis
• Embedded assessment and reflection prompts

How It Works

These labs are written in two parts.  Part 1 contains a guided inquiry intended to introduce the students to the use of the equipment and to the concept to be tested.  Part 2 is intended to be an inquiry designed by the students and conducted on a related question to Part 1.  The Conclusion is addressed after the students have completed their own inquiry in Part 2 because they are given the opportunity to answer their own related questions in order to fully understand the driving question for the lab. Therefore, the student inquiry is an integral part of the lab and not intended to be optional.

Not all inquiries are driven by testable questions; some are research questions, and some inquiries explore the function of an apparatus.  In the Horizon Alternative Energy SPARKlabs, the inquiries will be extensions of the guided part of the lab, and will begin with testable questions designed by the students.

It is recommended that you reserve a place in the classroom where students can post questions related to the guided inquiry being conducted as they come up.  These questions can be in any form and do not have to be testable at first.  When the guided inquiry portion of this lab has been completed, a survey of these and other related questions can be conducted, and those questions which are or could be testable can be identified.

After having completed the guided inquiry (Part 1) and their own inquiry (Part 2), students are ready to conclude their work.  They will answer the driving question from the guided portion of the lab, and address their own driving question, since these questions are related.

Answers to the questions posed in Part 1, along with screen shots of the graphical displays of the data and related slides, are provided in the Teacher Notes for each lab. Additionally, you may want to evaluate the way students conducted their own inquiry.  A rubric is provided that can serve as a starting point for evaluating student inquiries.  You can amend it as needed to suit your assessment needs.