Have you ever seen that building on Mississippi Street in Merrillville with the solar panels on the roof and the wind mill in the front? On Thursday, April 14, students from the Environmental Club at St. Mary's School in Crown Point were treated to a fascinating tour of the facility for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 697, located at 7200 Mississippi Street in Merrillville, IN.
The facility is the region’s first USGBC LEED gold status building and is one of the most technologically advanced buildings in the state in regards to environmental design. The tour was led by instructors Joe Pfister and Ken Jania. They were excited to give the tour to this group because they normally only get to give the tour to adults. St. Mary’s group may have been the youngest group to ever tour the facility.
Students learned about the high efficiency heating and cooling systems, the environmentally friendly building design including the use of low VOC (volatile organic compounds). Students were excited to learn about the bioswales and rain gardens that have been developed on the property that divert storm water to a natural habitat on the property.
One of the most exciting parts of the tour for the students was going up on the roof to see and actually feel the solar panels that create 21.5 kilowatts of electricity. That is enough to power several homes! Fifth grader Alex Emmanoilidis said, "It was really cool to be able to actually feel how warm the solar panels get!" Students also learned that due to heat issues, the solar panels actually work better here than in a sunny place like Arizona! Students also loved learning about the 100 kilowatt wind turbine located on the property.
Fifth grader Arianna Bacon-Ochoa was thrilled to be part of a hands-on demonstration of how, by changing the pressure on a liquid, you could change the boiling point of that liquid. She held a flask of water in her hand while Ken Jania increased the pressure in the container and the water boiled without hurting her!
The environmental club is led by teachers Rachel Baker, Heather Clarkson, Kim Hise and Principal Tom Ruiz. They hope that experiences like these will encourage students to think about ways they can help with the environment. Maybe one day one of these students will create a new energy technology that will lessen our impact on the environment!