KCP&L Energy Camp
CEWD Midwest Regional Meeting
April 16, 2013
The Possibility
• Summer 2010 - Center For Energy Workforce
Development and the MO Energy Workforce
Consortium outreach discussions
• The target is rising 8th graders to help them
stay with Math and Science in high school
• Spring 2011 - Got connected to UMKC School
of Computing and Engineering (SCE) who
connected us to the KC STEM Alliance
• Began exploring partnerships for funding
The Planning
• By the time we met with KC STEM Alliance, we had
– Internal support to fund the initial camp
– Commitment to 3-day Day Camp; piloting only 1
– Solid draft of the 3 day agenda
• KC STEM Alliance had experience with PLTW,
organizing camps & connection to regional SchDists
– Facilitated a realistic budget for the pilot camp
– Reworked agenda with UMKC-SCE faculty
• KCP&L, KC STEM & UMKC - SCE are full partners
– Committed to deliver quality camp @ minimum cost
• Being on campus creates vision that college
isn’t a scary place & of what’s possible
Day 1
• Economics of STEM jobs
• Safety demonstration
using Electric City
• Electrical Theory
– Potential and Kinetic
– Magnets and Poles
– Circuits using Snap Circuit
Kits and the UMKC Robotics
team as coaches
Day 2
• Continue Electric Theory
– Conductors and Insulators
– Current, Voltage, Resistance
– DC vs. AC, Induction and
Generation
– Types of Generation
• Fossil and Renewables
• Experiments
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Conductive paint drawings
Building dynamo
Fruit Battery
UMKC Power Lab
Began planning on a wind
generator
Wind Turbine Design
and Competition
In the Physics &
Electrical Labs
Day 3
• Wind Turbine Competition
– Winner generated 13V
• T & D Systems Overview
• Field Trips
– CT Plant and substation, Green
Impact Zone Substation tour,
Project Living Proof Demo
house tour – energy efficiency
– KCP&L Safety Trailer Demo
• Importance of Math &
Science in Career choices and
salaries
Field Trips
Debrief
• Every Employee that was involved talk with the
students about
– Their personal journey to a career at KCP&L
– The need for Math & Science in utility careers
– The kind of living and job security that is available
• The “dream” is to create a Energy Camp “in a box”
cookbook with curriculum and experiments for any
kind of group to use – from University to B&G Clubs
anywhere in the KCP&L service territory (or CEWD members).
• This year are working with Alta Vista and Frontier
School of Innovation.