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New Solar Learning Center at LBJ High School
AUSTIN- At LBJ High School, students’ futures are
looking even
sunnier. Friday witnessed the unveiling
of LBJ’s Solar Learning Center, one of 21 such facilities that have been
or are
being built at Austin-area schools. Though
rain clouds loomed overhead, spirits were high in the gymnasium at the
press
conference called to announce the opening of the facility. The new solar panels and generators will not only provide valuable experiences for students, they will save enough electricity to power 11 Austin-area homes. With
final exams and projects around the
corner, classroom trips to the Solar Learning Center won’t have a chance
to
make it into the curriculum until the beginning of next year, but
students are
already getting excited for what’s in store. Among the people who
came to speak were US Rep. Lloyd Doggett, Austin Mayor Lee
Leffingwell, Karl Rabago of Austin Energy, and AISD Superintendent Meria
Carstarphen, along with two students in the newly offered Environmental
Philosophy class. The students themselves are set to participate in a
mock-energy summit in the coming weeks, where they'll be considering a
wide array of energy options as they practice for what certainly will
prove to be more than an exercise in the future. The project was funded
by a combined effort between the school district, Austin Energy and
the Department of Energy, and hopes are if these early examples go as
planned,
it will be model reproduced at schools around the country. This is
good news for students looking to cultivate their interest in renewable
energy or as one student said, those who might not have had the chance
to see what a solar panel looks like.
See more from the press conference and about the Solar Learning Center: http://www.kvue.com/ Evan Smith is a Junior at Washington University in St. Louis interning at Environment Texas |
