On National STEM Day, we’re celebrating the innovative and impactful work of six national laboratories to develop community-centered programs focused on STEM outreach for learners of all ages.
Water Power Technologies Office
November 8, 2024
minute read time
It doesn’t take a catchy theme song, a magic school bus, or even Bill Nye to get people excited about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. When it comes to breaking down barriers, a little creative thinking and a lot of personality can go a long way.
Today, on National STEM Day, we’re celebrating the innovative and impactful work of six national laboratories that have used funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office to develop community-centered programs focused on STEM outreach for learners of all ages.
From hands-on activities and interactive games, to exchanging oral traditions and formal mentoring, these laboratories worked with schools, museums, and Tribal nations to lower structural hurdles and find meaningful ways to engage their local communities in STEM pathways and water power careers.
Learn more about each of their projects and spark your imagination with these water power STEM resources!
Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne)
Determined to make outreach events even more accessible, Argonne worked with community partners to bridge the gaps between K–12 families from the south side of Chicago and their interest in STEM research and careers.
The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry attracts roughly 9,000 daily visitors, and for the Science Works Expo in October 2023, organizers provided 13 schools with funding for buses, allowing an additional 550 youth and families from grades 5–10 to attend.
Researchers from the hydropower team joined more than 35 companies and hosted three hydropower activity booths to whet visitors’ appetites for renewable energy. Using a model water turbine, kids took turns swapping out the design of the blades to see whether circular, triangular, or square blades spun more quickly. Another demonstration showed how pumped storage hydropower can store energy and provide clean power to the grid when other sources aren’t available.
Argonne’s STEM Education Outreach team took the new hands-on model water turbine activity on the road throughout the year, going to more than 30 STEM fests and engaging over 10,000 youth and families in Chicago and the surrounding areas.
In November 2023, 40 Chicago-area 10th and 11th grade students came to tour the lab for a See Yourself in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) event, which was organized by three of Argonne’s employee resource groups. Hydropower and clean energy researchers served as the “T” for technology—helping broaden students’ perspectives of career pathways and providing opportunities to experiment with physical models of scientists’ devices.
In April 2024, Argonne hosted a hydropower career booth at Argonne’s Science Careers in Search of Women Expo (SCSW) to talk about their career paths and demonstrate a working hydropower plant model to over 350 female high school students from 35+ Chicago area schools as part of a day of tours, lectures, career booths and mentor shadowing experiences.
This past summer, the hydropower team provided one-on-one mentorship for four high school interns. Over the course of eight weeks, the students partnered on case studies, examining topics such as how to optimize water withdrawal from a dam to support the ecological health of the river system. They presented their final research to fellow interns, lab researchers, and their families at Argonne’s High School Bridge Into Internship showcase (funded by Office of Science, Workforce Development for Teachers and Students).
In August, Argonne also hosted the first annual South Side STEM Showcase, providing a place for students who participated in summer programs at any out-of-school organization to highlight their work. Argonne’s hydropower high school summer interns demonstrated the hydropower plant model and taught families how hydropower plants work. The event brought together more than 200 youth and families from over 20 different STEM training programs to present their projects, connect with the community, and cultivate pride in growing a local, diverse STEM leadership and workforce.
For their dedicated and driven outreach, the Argonne Hydropower Team was recognized across the lab with a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Impact Award.
Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
The Snake River winds through the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ traditional homeland in southern Idaho. Here, water isn’t just a resource—it’s life itself.
In a region where communities have been historically excluded from making decisions about energy development and natural resource management, INL wanted to expand opportunities that could support and empower the next generation in making these types of decisions. And making STEM fields more approachable and accessible seemed like a way to start.
INL researchers, some of whom are also Tribal members, as well as representatives from the Shoshone-Bannock Language and Cultural Preservation Department organized a week-long Hydro Camp for students at Shoshone-Bannock Jr./Sr. High School. Activities included perspectives from both a traditional Tribal lens and a Western scientific perspective. This approach opened the door for students to share their knowledge about social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues that intersect with how the community approaches managing natural resources like water.
As part of the camp, students played an interactive game, called “Choose Your Career in Hydropower,” which led them through real-life situations involving a fictional community with a local hydroelectric plant. The individual decisions the students made revealed how their current strengths and interests could be not just relevant, but essential, for their future career path.
They also played a game called Slow Motion Extinction to learn about fish migration, built model turbines, visited the Idaho Falls hydroelectric power plant, and shared oral histories of the watershed from the shores of the Snake River. The group also discussed the Tribes’ sovereign authority to manage and safeguard their water resources, both historically, as well as for future generations.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Washington is a water powerhouse. In 2023, 86% of the state’s renewable energy came from hydropower facilities, and in recent years, Washington has generated between a quarter and a third of the nation’s total hydroelectric power. However, homegrown career paths in this sector aren’t as easy to map.
NREL partnered with the Foundation for Water and Energy Education (FWEE) to host STEM Career Academies in summer 2024 that provided direct outreach in three communities: Wenatchee, Tri-Cities, and Southwest Washington. Over the course of 3–5 days, high school students shadowed experts up power poles, across spillways, into fish hatcheries, and more. The combination of field trips, hands-on activities, and discussions, plus academic and technical guidance, piqued students’ interests and offered ideas for exploring clean energy and STEM pathways in their hometown.
Through this partnership, FWEE offers scholarships to keep materials and registration costs low, ensuring that any student interested and accepted into the program can attend.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
In summer 2024, ORNL hosted student interns, educators, and visiting faculty on campus to support their goals in working on projects related to water power.
Two rural high school teachers participating in the Appalachian STEM Academy (ASA) at ORNL learned how hydropower works, along with its social and environmental impacts. As part of the academy, ORNL researchers and staff led presentations and mentored the teachers as they explored hydroelectric datasets and developed their own lesson plans. The ASA educators received a stipend for the two weeks they spent on campus, as well as support to cover travel and lodging.
On the collegiate side, the lab hosted 11 student interns whose research spanned a variety of areas related to water power. The lab also welcomed Sajad Hamidi, associate professor of civil engineering at Slippery Rock University, as part of the Visiting Faculty Program, which is designed to support full-time faculty from institutions historically marginalized in STEM research. At ORNL, Hamidi spent his summer and fall sabbatical focusing on research related to algal blooms and greenhouse gas emissions.
ORNL experts also got off campus and into the classroom, bringing activities to the honors STEM class at Northwest Middle School in Knoxville, Tennessee. After working with students on a model water wheel and brainstorming how communities can respond to water and energy challenges, lab members shared stories about their personal career paths to build excitement around STEM fields like water power.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
Surviving in the fictional world of Fishcadia is scaly business. Inspired by the iconic video game, The Oregon Trail, PNNL’s new educational tool allows users to navigate a river as either a salmon, sturgeon, char, or lamprey. “Fish Trails” spans the migratory channels between inland rivers and the open ocean, with human-made obstacles to navigate and hungry birds, bears, and otters to dodge along the way.
Storyboarding experts and game developers worked hand-in-hand with hydropower experts and fish passage researchers to create realistic scenarios. As a fish, users learn that getting past dams is not just about surmounting a physical barrier, but also managing conditions in the water. The game provides an engaging way for people to learn about fish migration and survival.
PNNL also took inspiration from airline safety videos to develop a series of videos about working in ocean engineering. These videos feature a range of experts who provide a first-hand look at how to manage biofouling, underwater pressure, corrosion, and electricity. These videos, as well as the lab’s supplementary FAQ, serve as a valuable public resource, especially for those who are getting their feet wet in marine energy innovations.
Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia)
Have you ever made waves in the desert, or toasted marshmallows using a solar mirror? The middle and high school students attending Sandia’s first STEM summer camp gained hands-on experience with both traditional and creative applications for renewable energy.
Over the course of the week, Sandia engineers with expertise in solar, wind, water power, and grid integration led activities in which students could design and test different energy devices. On the last day of camp, students built their own resilient energy grid, using a combination of renewable energy sources to provide consistent power during natural disasters and spikes in energy demand.
In partnership with educators from Albuquerque’s Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum, Sandia brought demonstrations into communities across New Mexico. With table-top exhibits hosted at libraries, museums, community centers, and schools, Sandia encouraged people of all ages to explore water power technologies. Engineers from the lab showed visitors how to use a model wave energy converter and answered questions.
As part of this ongoing partnership, Sandia and Explora also led two educational workshops that helped teachers develop a complete lesson set about renewable energy, including marine energy, propelling their outreach from 30 educators to as many as 2,000 students.
Learn more about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers and workforce development opportunities on the Hydropower STEM Portal and Marine Energy STEM Portal. Subscribe to The SPLASH, NREL’s STEM newsletter.
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