Grant bolsters science program at middle school

Eighth-graders at Smith Middle School are ready to add a new dimension to their science curriculum, thanks to a $2,000 grant from The Piedmont Electric Membership Cooperative.

The Piedmont grant, which in association with the N.C. Bright Ideas grant program encourages creativity in the classroom, gives students the funding needed to build and race hydrogen fuel-cell cars.

Every student in eighth grade at the school will have the opportunity to build a car and enter it in a race in late April.

Each car built will be similar in size to a small model car that can fit into a garage the size of a shoe box. But instead of using batteries, students will use hydrogen fuel cells as the vehicles' power source.

Melinda Fitzgerald, a teacher at Smith, said that beginning in January, students will learn the skills necessary to conduct experiments to perfect their cars for the April competition.

Each fuel cell will use an additional power source, such as a solar panel, to break down distilled water into hydrogen gas that will create energy for the cars, she said.

"The students will learn about electricity, circuitry, resistance and voltage, changing wheels and axles and Newton's laws," Fitzgerald said. "Using real technology and getting to see science in action definitely enhances the learning experience."

The state's electric cooperatives founded the Bright Ideas grant program in 1994 in order to aid teachers that had to use money out of their own pockets to pay for creative learning.

Since then, the program has awarded more than $3.5 million in grants to benefit 650,000 students.

Suzanne Ward, coordinator for Bright Ideas, said the goal of the program is to improve education with unique projects that otherwise would not be funded.

"It varies on how much money is allotted per grant," Ward said. "Smith Middle received the full $2,000 grant because they presented a very creative project."

Though the program is funded by electric cooperatives, grants are available in any subject. Rick Martinez, media relations director for Bright Ideas, said the program is not defined by its sponsors.

"Very few of the projects have anything to do with electricity or energy," Martinez said.

"We're adamant about not having subject guidelines. Over the years, education has tended to go in fads on what subjects they emphasize."

Piedmont received funds from statewide organizations in the program's first few years. As the grants became more popular, the electric cooperative groups began to match the funds from other organizations, doubling the funds available for grants.

Todd Pope, a member of Piedmont, said that the grant program has been a win-win situation for the schools and the electric cooperatives and that they intend to continue the program.

"It's good for us to have a positive profile in the community as the creative pump in some schools," Pope said.

"At the same time, the projects expand the horizons of the kids."

Though this is the first year Smith has received a grant, Pope noted that city schools typically receive a high number of grants because of the large amount of applications the schools send in.

"We're glad to see a first-time grant given to the school," Pope said. "Their particular grant is energy-based and exciting because it's on the cutting edge."

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.