October is a month full of holidays, observances, and awareness days. Check out the list below and find creative ways to incorporate conservation and energy activities in your classroom. Then be sure to look at the end of this post for teacher training opportunities all over the country!
October 4: Improve Your Office Day: This is for teachers! Read about ways to improve your office, workroom, or workspace, including through the use of technology. Think about going green with energy efficiency choices. The goal is to increase productivity in a healthy environment.
October 6: Change a Light Day: Everyone in the school community can celebrate international Change a Light Day! The goal is to raise awareness on light-saving and energy-saving techniques related to light bulbs. Here are some fun activities that you can use in your classroom: Light Bulb Investigation Taking a Look at Light Bulbs.
October 9: National Walk to School Day: Register for the 28th annual National Walk and Roll to School Day! Take a look at electric bike (e-bike) safety and explore the concept of e-bikes for middle and high school students. Enjoy a crossword puzzle celebrating the day.
October 12: National Savings Day: Educate students about how to save money during National Savings Day! This is a great connection between math and science and an easy way to use products from the GetWise kit! Students can calculate the amount of money they can save by installing the products at home. Check out other ways to save money by being energy-efficient.
October 21: Back to the Future Day: Take a look back to the future to see what people thought the future would look like in 1985 and then compare it to what has actually happened. We do not have time travel machines, but we have hoverboards, video conferencing, and large, flat-screen televisions. How many predictions did the movie get right? Students can research and create timelines for inventions that correlate with the movie. What have we accomplished? Then they can be engineers and design what we still need to invent.
October 26: National Make a Difference Day: How can students be impactful in energy efficiency or conservation? Celebrate National Make a Difference Day to have the students generate ideas and carry them out. Check out sites such as National Geographic, World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace, Rainforest Alliance, and also these sustainable energy companies.
October 29: National Internet Day: Take a deeper look with your students at National Internet Day to learn that the internet is a connection between two or more electrical devices that serves as a communication medium. Use the internet to research how it works and how much energy it takes to run and use the internet. Then, unplug!
October 31: Halloween: Participate in any of the fun Halloween STEM activities we discussed in our blog.
Thanks to the National Energy Education Development project for the list of great events!
October 5: 2024 Phillips 66 Energy Education Workshop – Helena, MT and 2024 Massachusetts Virtual Energy Education Workshop
October 8: 2024 Phillips 66 Energy Education Workshop – Edwardsville, IL
October 10: 2024 Massachusetts Energy Education Workshop for Teachers – Boston, MA
October 15: 2024 Virginia Energy Education Workshop for Teachers – Virginia Beach, VA and 2024 Shell Offshore Wind Energy Education Workshop for Teachers – Atlantic City, NJ
October 16: 2024 Shell Energy Education Workshop – Monaca, PA
October 17: Conoco Phillips Energy Education Workshop – Midland, TX
October 19: 2024 Phillips 66 Energy Education Workshop – Lake Charles, LA
October 22: 2024 Phillips 66 Energy Education Workshop – Crockett, CA and 2024 PPG Energy Education Workshop for Teachers – Oakdale, PA
October 24: Phillips66 Energy Education Workshop for Teachers – Lincoln, NE and PPG Energy Education Workshop for Teachers – Cleveland, OH