Borton full of energy
Destiny Green rides the stationary bike while her teacher, Molly Reed, watches to see if she's generated enough power to turn on a small television set.
Students in Molly Reed's first- and second-grade classroom at Borton Primary Magnet School are peddling a project that has changed the way they view energy production and use.
By riding a stationary bike in their classroom, they generate the energy needed to turn on light bulbs and small appliances. They've discovered they need to pedal longer and harder to turn on incandescent light bulbs compared to fluorescent bulbs. And they're exhausted when they ride long enough to turn on a tiny TV, let alone get a picture to appear.
Eli Protas wants bikes to power his school.
Even after seeing the effort needed to produce a small amount of energy, Eli Protas wasn't daunted. "It would be awesome to power the entire school," he said enthusiastically.
That's not possible, but students did take their newfound knowledge home and lobbied for energy changes there. Emma Radersdorf said her family spent an entire day changing all the light bulbs at her house from incandescent bulbs to fluorescent ones.
Her classmates said they had swapped light bulbs, too, turned off the water faucet when water wasn't being used and turned off lights when they left rooms. Others said they'd gone on walks, ridden their bicycles and played outside more instead of watching television. Some said they'd been catching bugs, playing with Lego blocks and romping with their pets.
Here's how bike riding generates power:
As a rider pedals the stationary bike, the back tire's friction moves an old skateboard wheel attached to a generator. As the generator spins, the magnet and copper wire inside attract electrons. That energy is sent through the wires to the device on a nearby energy board.
Four incandescent light bulbs are attached above four fluorescent bulbs on the board, showing the comparison between the energy needed to turn each kind of bulb on when a switch is flipped. The board also has outlets where small appliances such as a miniature television can be plugged in.
That's the kind of behavioral changes Reed hoped her class would make. Now students have moved on to teaching the rest of the school at 700 E. 22nd St. these lessons. Other classes will sign up for instruction time and come to Reed's classroom, also known as the Bicycle Room, for demonstrations. Children have also demonstrated their pedal project at a school open house. They'll volunteer at school fundraisers, more open houses and any other public school event.
Students have also distributed fliers around the school and posted handmade posters showing energy saving activities.
In the coming weeks, Reed's students will try pedal power to turn on other devices, such as a computer, blender, microwave and a bigger TV.
These students are helping their school learn more about energy. Front row, from left, Alexandra Holiman, Pilar Muller, Edith Escobar, Belle Poirier, Sean Thompson, Emma Radersdorf and Marcus Mares; Middle row, Eli Progas, Isaac Bendickson, Destiny Green, Arthur Mickelson, Ben Metcalf, and Sophie Chapman; Backrow, Luis Saiz, teacher Molly Reed, Chet Oreck, Eileen Anderson and Allie Tucker
"They can see that even the little things they do have an impact on their world," Reed said. "They'll take this knowledge with them forever."
For more on this story, watch the following video clip:
Borton Primary Magnet School students generating energy with bikes - from KVOA News 4, 09/09/08