Alexandria — James K. Polk’s Greenovation Lab, which reopened on June 13, showcases the school’s sustainable energy heating and cooling systems and explains to children how they work. Children across the school district will be able to tour the Greenovation Lab to learn such concepts as how to use ground air — which remains at a constant temperature of 56 degrees — to heat and cool classrooms, or how to harness solar power to heat water.
The diagrams and videos explaining how to use sustainable sources of energy to heat and cool a school were created by children — for children.
Environmental Educator Ashley Shelton, Polk’s art teacher, sponsored the Greenovation Lab project with a Dream Fund grant from the school system. She worked with a group of 3rd to 4th graders afterschool for five months to complete the project.
Shelton says her goal was “to teach children to become environmental stewards. James K. Polk has a Greenovation Learning Lab but it is not being used to its full capacity. The Greenovation Learning Lab needs to excite, engage and educate students about the sustainable energy sources that we have on premises,” she said.
For more information about the Greenovation Lab, see http://blogs.acpsk12.org/greenovationlab.