Energy Experts to Share Their Knowledge at Sunsational EarthFest

Sunsational EarthFest, a new Earth Day event, will help residents learn about renewable energy, resource conservation and the environment in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.

The University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) and the Brevard Community College Green Team will host the event on Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Everyone is invited, and admission is free.

Learn from the experts how to cut your energy costs without sacrificing comfort, the benefits of green roofs, the basics of solar energy and the latest research in alternative fuel technology. Tours of the center will also be offered.

Exhibitors and vendors will offer presentations, demonstrations and activities.
Solar energy, environmental and educational exhibits — including various types of alternative fuel vehicles — will be on display, and a farmer’s market will feature local organic food. Activities for kids include a bicycle rodeo, solar boat demonstrations, a bouncy house and face painting. In addition, the Middle School Science Bowl finalist teams will race their model hydrogen fuel cell cars.

The BCC Green Team will present free educational and environmental films, “Gimme Green,” “Who Killed the Electric Car?” and “Kilowatt Ours.” The BCC Planetarium and Observatory will present two showings of the movie “A Living Sea,” which is shown in IMAX, at a discounted rate of $3.

Sunsational EarthFest activities will be located throughout the north end of the Brevard Community College Cocoa Campus and at the Florida Solar Energy Center, 1679 Clearlake Road, Cocoa.

Sunsational EarthFest is sponsored by the Florida Solar Energy Center, the BCC Green Team, Bright House Networks, FLORIDA TODAY and SolarWorld.

For more information, call Susan Schleith at (321) 638-1017 or go to www.floridaenergycenter.org/go/earthfest.

Teachers Learn A Life-Saving Skill: How to Build a Solar Cooker

What does an umbrella, inner tube and mylar blanket have in common?  They are all components of innovative solar cooker designs.

Seventeen teachers came to the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) in Cocoa this past Saturday, from as far away as Sarasota and Port St. Lucie, to learn how to build solar cookers.

Teachers learn how to construct solar cookers from everyday items such as an umbrella.
Teachers learn how to construct solar cookers from everyday items such as an umbrella.

Working in teams, the teachers constructed five different solar cookers.  Each design used common household items in creative ways, including an umbrella, inner tube, and plant stand, to name just a few.  Armed with new information, strategies and inspiration, these teachers will work with their students to build a variety of solar cookers.  The student-designed and built cookers will be on display at the Bright House Solar Energy Cook-off at FSEC’s EnergyWhiz Olympics on May 9. In Top Chef style, student teams will also submit a food cooked in their solar cooker to be judged by a panel of experts.
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