making air quality practical, relevant, and fun for youth roberta burnes environmental education...
TRANSCRIPT
Drivers, Start Your Engines!
Making Air Quality Practical, Relevant, and FUN for Youth
Roberta BurnesEnvironmental Education Specialist
Kentucky Division for Air Quality
Air quality is abstract
Make it activeMake it
personalEngage the
senses
How do consumer decisions impact air quality?
2006 Hummer H3 Midsize SUVMPG – City 16/Highway 20
Maximum Seating - 5
2006 Chevrolet Corvette ConvertibleMPG – City 18/Highway 26
Maximum Seating - 2
2006 Toyota Prius Compact Hybrid SedanMPG – City 60/Highway 51
Maximum Seating - 5
Setting the Stage
• Students receive car cards with MPG data
• Each student gets three gas tokens
• Each gas token is worth one gallon of gas
ProcedureStudents line
upChoose city
or highway
ProcedureBegin walking,
counting stepsOne step=one
mile
ProcedureRefer to car cards for
MPGDrop one gas token
for every gallon of gas you use
When you run out of gas, stop!
ProcedureSome cars go
farther than others on a gallon of gas! Maybe I should choose another vehicle ….
The carpool advantageStudents
choose who they want to carpool with
Students “pool” their gas tokens
No one runs out of gas!
Extensions: Hybrid cars
Where’s the exhaust?
Extensions: GHG emissions
Collecting tailpipe exhaust to test for CO2
Extensions: GHG emissions
Car exhaust is release into solution of bromothymol blue
Amount of color change indicates relative concentration of CO2
ConclusionsAir quality
impacts everything – people, plants, environment
Look for ways to make it “touchy-feely”
Have fun!
