A summary of the teacher training event in Boston after the C3E Women's conference in November 2017.
December 5, 2017
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“My students care a lot about climate change,” said educator Michel Ohly, with Leslie Ellis School in Arlington, Massachusetts. “I wanted to come here to learn about resources to encourage kids to find their voice and know they can make a difference.” Michel was one of nine educators who joined the Department of Energy, MIT, and KidWind for the second annual C3E science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers’ workshop on November 17 at the Museum of Science.
This hands-on and interactive workshop focused on clean energy and provided each teacher with a hands-on training experience from MIT, Museum of Science, KidWind, and the Department of Energy, with best practices for teaching a clean energy curriculum.
“We are honored the Department of Energy selected the Museum of Science to conduct their C3E workshop. The Museum is dedicated to sustainability and several of our EIE curricular units focus on energy & conservation design challenges," noted Lesley Kennedy, Museum Manager, Teacher PD.
After KidWind walked teachers through the basics of wind energy (check out these Massachusetts stats), participants built model wind turbines to explore blade design and lead future similar activities in their classrooms. If you’re a teacher or parent looking for great wind energy education resources, check out this inside look (via GoPro!) of a turbine, the WindExchange website, and our Wind for Schools program to install a turbine at your school.
Teachers had time to tour the Museum of Science, including the Catching the Wind exhibit on the ways wind turbines are transforming the energy sector and landscape, Conserve @ Home about energy savings tips and usage at home, and Energized!, a walk through energy in our everyday lives. In the Theatre of Electricity, the teachers watched the world’s largest indoor lightening show, and they dropped by the Educator Resource Center to get more details about the center’s offerings for teachers.
Lunch was coupled with innovation share time for teachers to exchange information about their clean energy education resources. “It’s always great to talk to the other teachers and compare notes,” said teacher Lisa Troy, the Sustainability Coordinator and Middle School teacher at The Sage School in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
Melinda Higgins, Established Scientist/Science Technology Policy Fellow with the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, walked educators through the Girls of Energy microsite, and the content for educators on energy sources, energy efficiency, safety and security, and innovative technologies. Melinda, a former teacher herself for over 20 years, also showed teachers how to use the smartphone microscope designed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory staff for learning in the classroom.
For more about C3E and teacher resources, visit /STEM
AnneMarie Horowitz
AnneMarie Horowitz is the Chief of Staff for the Arctic Energy Office. She joined the Arctic Energy Office in May 2023, and previously served as the Acting Communications Director until September 2023. AnneMarie has been with the Energy Department since 2010, and was previously on the digital team of the Office of Public Affairs, where she managed digital projects and internal employee communications efforts. AnneMarie was the Digital Communications Manager from March 2023 - September 2023 for the Department of Health and Human Affairs' Public Education Campaign, We Can Do This, to share information about the COVID vaccine.
AnneMarie founded two active employee resource groups at the Department of Energy: POWER (Professional Opportunities for Women in Energy Realized) and the Emerging Professionals Group. From 2015 - 2017 she served as the Special Advisor on workforce issues for Deputy Secretary of Energy Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall. She has also previously worked in the Under Secretary for Management and Performance and the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity.
AnneMarie created the STEM Rising: Women @ Energy series, featuring profiles of women from the agency who work in STEM careers. She was critical to establishing the Equality in Energy Transitions Initiative, a dual-hatted effort of the International Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Ministerial to advance the transition to a clean energy economy by engaging more women in clean energy, and is involved with the U.S. C3E Initiative as an award reviewer and communication. During the Obama Administration she was a DOE designee to the White House Council on Women and Girls. AnneMarie was a U.S. delegate to the APEC Women in the Economy Forum in 2014 in Beijing, China.
AnneMarie has a BA in Political Science from the University of Portland and a Masters of Government from Johns Hopkins University. She resides in Philadelphia.