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Kerrin: Welcome to Transforming Energy: The NREL Podcast, brought to you by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Every other Wednesday, we offer a glimpse into the world of clean energy research and happenings here at the lab. I'm your co-host, Kerrin Jeromin.
Taylor: And I'm Taylor Mankle. Today, we're diving into a crucial aspect of NREL's work: education. We'll explore how NREL is empowering future innovators through its education initiatives. Let’s learn all about it Kerrin!
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Kerrin: Education is at the heart of NREL's commitment and vision to create a clean energy future for the world. That commitment is demonstrated daily by the people who lead NREL’s Education Center.
Taylor: Absolutely, Kerrin. The NREL Education Center provides a wide range of programs for students, teachers, and even community groups. From virtual experiments to in-person opportunities, NREL is dedicated to inspiring and educating the next generation of clean energy leaders. Keeping our future leaders steaming right ahead!
Kerrin: I see what you did there, Taylor. STEAM—one of the flagship programs offered by the Education Center is the Stories and STEaM series! You’ve likely heard of STEM, but STEaM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math.
Taylor: That’s right, Kerrin. Children ages 4–8 are invited to join NREL staff as they read stories and engage in related STEM and art activities.
Kerrin: The program takes place at schools, libraries, and community organizations. And it's a fantastic way to introduce young minds to the exciting world of science and technology and tap into their creative side.
Taylor: Incorporating art into STEM, making it STEAM education, not only adds depth and creativity to the learning experience but also allows students to approach problems from different perspectives.
Kerrin: Kamyria Coney is a policy analyst focusing her research on transportation and energy equity. Coney also occasionally volunteers at the Education Center and shares her perspective on the value of incorporating arts into STEM.
Coney: I do have a pretty heavy math background, but I feel like that aspect of life, making sure we’re combining both technical stuff but also the arts piece is super, super important. And I think it does help get the kiddos interested in things … I’m a very visual person, so I’m like, I get it. I like to see things too… you know, our more creative side to present things in a way that’s actually digestible to others.
Kerrin: Making science digestible and understandable is key to getting more people interested in it.
Taylor: Right.
Kerrin: There is a huge diversity of opportunities within STEAM fields, and I think it is so crucial that we communicate that to kids.
Taylor: Absolutely. We also spoke with NREL Education Center staffers Tom Mason and Meghan Pearson—they lead many of the activities we’re talking about today.
Kerrin: These two know science education inside and out and talk about the importance of getting kids of all backgrounds interested in STEM at an early age.
Pearson: We now have expanded into as young as pre-K so we started hitting kids with just helping them feel belonging. And one of the things that you'll hear Tom and I talk a lot about is STEM identity. And so, we know from research that STEM identity is built your entire lifetime and STEM identity is just how you see yourself as a person and as a scientist. And everybody has a stem identity.
Mason: That idea of STEM identity is important to cultivate in all students. Primarily, you know, one of our focuses is recruiting students who wouldn't traditionally have these kinds of opportunities because the research indicates that those students have a difficult time realizing a positive stem identity because a lot of times they don't have role models who look like them and they don't have representation at places like NREL and within other STEM careers.
Taylor: NREL’s Education Center is on a mission to make students feel like they do belong in STEM fields, regardless of their background, education, gender or ethnicity.
Kerrin: Exactly. They are dedicated to making sure opportunities are available to students of all backgrounds and see that the NREL staff involved in developing these programs, represent a wide diversity of backgrounds themselves to provide an inclusive and welcoming space for the students they want to reach.
Taylor: By providing diverse role models and authentic learning experiences, NREL is working to break down barriers and inspire students from all backgrounds to pursue STEM careers.
Kerrin: Let’s bring back in Kamyria Coney—she shares firsthand experience on why diversity and representation is so important.
Kamyria: I'm gonna be honest … I didn't really like math or sciences when I was in elementary school. I was actually not very good at it or really pay attention to it. But also I didn't have anybody to look up to, at least in that someone that looked like me that was doing science. I didn't know that was an option. So I think letting kids know, hey, anybody can do it if you’re interested in it.
Taylor: Diversity and representation in STEM can bring different experiences and viewpoints to the table, and it is essential to recognize and address those differences to create inclusive learning environments.
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Taylor: These educational opportunities aren’t just provided to the youngest future clean energy innovators. For older students, NREL offers virtual and in-person tours, as well as field trip opportunities for students grade 4 through 12 to get a behind-the-scenes look at our cutting-edge research facilities. These tours give students and adults alike a glimpse into the innovative work being done at the lab.
Kerrin: Which is so cool. Hands-on experiences allow students to explore topics like solar energy, wind power, and energy transformation in a fun and interactive way, which can help inspire them to pursue careers in clean energy.
Taylor: But NREL's commitment to education doesn't stop there. The lab also offers virtual experiments for teachers and students who are unable to visit in person. These experiments provide valuable learning opportunities for classrooms across the country.
Kerrin: And if none of those options work, there’s also Exploring STEM With NREL, a program that brings our researchers and experts into schools to share their knowledge and expertise.
Taylor: These sessions give students a chance to ask questions and learn directly from scientists and engineers who are leading the way in clean energy research.
Kerrin: I mean isn’t that just like the way it always goes? I remember for me there was always something when I was young, like a great science teacher who loved what they were doing, that just got me interested in science. I mean what about you? Was there something that early on in your life?
Taylor: Absolutely. It’s those critical moments that get you hooked and get you invested in something that you want to follow through with that you can take to the next level of education where it gets a little more specialized.
Kerrin: Yeah, definitely, so to capture that audience and to capture those students beyond grade school there are collegiate competition opportunities as well. Often administered in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and other collaborators, these friendly competitions allow more experienced students to get their hands dirty with other students for the chance at a prize!
Taylor: These are a blast and really give you a glimpse into the future of these areas of energies and they’re not limited either from wind energy, to solar power, geothermal to marine energy, and beyond.
Kerrin: NREL’s Arielle Cardinal is involved in the marine energy competition. Cardinal is a program coordinator for NREL’s water power program at the lab. and focuses on workforce development and STEM education initiatives.
Arielle: We have hydropower and marine energy collegiate competitions and that is getting, you know, college level kids, young adults, excited about the workforce,
knowledgeable about the industry, so that if they do decide to go into the industry, they already have, like a solid educational base. And what we've done in some of our collegiate competition programs … The students have to do this community connections challenge, which really almost forces them to get into their community and a lot of them go and they do outreach with students, you know, younger students. So they're … sharing what they've learned and talking to them about the competitions and that like, you know, it has to come from all levels too, because a lot of us here at NREL … might not speak the same lingo and be as exciting to them.
Kerrin: These competitions and similar contests support the next generation of scientists and entrepreneurs by introducing them to renewable energy professionals and the wide world of STEM careers.
Taylor: And we’ve hardly even scratched the surface of collegiate competitions today. There’s so many beyond marine energy—wind, solar, geothermal…the list goes on. You can learn much more by visiting nrel-dot-gov.
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Kerrin: Well Taylor, after today’s brief conversation, I feel like our education and outreach knows no bounds.
Taylor: I know! Whether it's leading a virtual tour, conducting a hands-on experiment, or sharing your own career journey, NREL staffers play a crucial role in shaping the future of clean energy by inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.
Kerrin: Not to mention, the impact of extending these efforts far beyond the walls of the lab. By engaging with students, teachers, and community groups, NREL is fostering a culture of innovation and sustainability that will benefit society for generations to come.
Taylor: And to all our listeners, remember: Education is the key to unlocking and uncovering innovations for a more sustainable future.
Kerrin: That’s right. Taylor for President. Well said. Thanks for listening to this episode of Transforming Energy: The NREL Podcast. I’m Kerrin Jeromin.
Taylor: And I’m Taylor Mankle. We’ll be back in two weeks with more news from the lab.
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Kerrin: This episode was adapted from information on NREL’s Education webpage on NREL.gov and written by Corbett Haase. Our theme music is written and performed by Ted Vaca and episode music by Chuck Kurnik, Jim Riley, and Mark Sanseverino, of Drift B-C. This podcast is produced by NREL’s Communications Office and recorded at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado. We express our gratitude and acknowledge that the land we are on is the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute peoples. We recognize and pay respect to the Indigenous peoples from our past, present, and future, and are grateful to those who have and continue to be stewards of this land.
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