Want some Snacks...but not the kind you eat. They're the kind you can learn from and have fun with.
Great & Tangible Science Experiences, Projects & Collaborations
Projects, including Science Fair projects, are organized by subject matter. Some NEED age-graded projects can take weeks.
The Shopping Mall will lead you along Trails. These activities are for reading and learning - short enough to be done during one 40-minute class. They should be fine for a bright fifth grader or an average 11th grader.
Advanced Placement students will be guided with APs. But at the end of all trails are levels of depth and complexity sufficient for all advanced analysts.
Or you can get involved with the IPT!
Shop the Energy Trails Mall for a quick learn on the topic of your choice.
Hi! You can know-a-lot about everything from the beginning to the end of energy, covering energy as a unifying concept.
The Mall starts at the beginning learners levels and goes through everything to generally end at heavy Post-Doctoral levels. Travel as many Trails as fast and as far as possible, but please feel free go at your own pace!
We'll raise questions, then answer them, as we shop for a "quick learn" at the Energy Trails Mall.
Do you want to follow the "What's Energy Trail?" and learn what energy is? APs
The "What Do We Use Energy For?" Trail:
Today, oil is pumped from underground oil-filled rock and sent to a refinery where it is made into gasoline. How about following the Refinery Trail? A Typical oil formation has a cap over natural gas.
Below that may be oil. Then water. All three are in the same bed of sandstone.
Fossil Fuel Trail
We mostly depend on fossil fuels - like oil, coal, natural gas, and propane. Did dinosaurs get turned into coal or oil? If you answered "yes", hmmm, you really might want to follow this trail because, for several hundred million years, the answer has definitely been "No!"
Hydrogen Trail
Why do we have no choice but to convert from a carbon-fuel-based economy to a hydrogen-fuel-based ecnonomy over the coming decades.
History Trail
Has coal been used for heat for very long?
Yes, for thousands of years!
How long has coal been used for electricity?
For a little over a hundred years.
Electricity Trail
Today, we use electricity to heat our homes and to cook our meals. Is this where most electricity is used? No, most is used in industrial manufacturing.
Coal Trail
Coal was used as a fuel for steam engines but now it mostly makes electricity.
Natural Gas Trail
We can use natural gas to make electricity, too.
Oil Trail
The first oil well in the United States was drilled more than 100 years ago.
Alternative Energy Trails
Because we use so much energy, scientists are working on other ways to make electricity.
Nuclear Power Trail
Uranium is made into fuel for nuclear power plants.
Renewable Energy Trail
Some energy sources are renewable.
Solar Energy Trail
We are learning to use energy directly from the sun.
Human Genome Trail
We are hot to understand the energy within human genomes.
Date last updated: December 22, 2004