We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

logo
  • Engineers & Specifiers
  • Contractors & Installers
  • Wholesalers & Distributors
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Subscription
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • PRODUCTS
    • Bath & Kitchen
    • Fire Protection
    • HVAC
    • Hydronics/Radiant
    • Plumbing
    • PVF
    • Tools
  • PROJECTS
    • Commercial
    • Green Building
    • MRO/Retrofit
    • Remodeling
    • Residential
  • HOW TO
    • Design
    • Fire Protection
    • Legal Matters
    • Management
  • BUSINESS
    • Buying Groups
    • Technology
    • Associations
  • CODES & STANDARDS
    • ANSI
    • ASHRAE
    • ASSE
    • Regulations
    • Green Building
    • IAPMO
    • ICC
    • NFPA
  • RESOURCES
    • Media Kit
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Classifieds
    • Digital Editions
    • Behind the Wall
    • Webinars
    • AHR Live 2023
  • PODCASTS
  • DIGITAL EDITIONS
Home » Bring Your Kids to Work in the SUN!
Business Uncomplicated

Bring Your Kids to Work in the SUN!

Piquing their interest at a young age will get them ready for a lifetime of curiosity.

September 6, 2017
Ellen Rohr
No Comments
2017 Sept PHC Ellen Rohr 1

At the engineering firm of FSC Inc., CEO Sonia Garapaty hosted a Bring Your Kids to Work day for her team members’ children. David Kaibel, manufacturers’ representative of Comfort Sales Agency Inc., had asked my husband, Hot Rod, whom he knows through their Caleffi connection, to participate. (How nice when industry partners collaborate!) About 15 kids, aged 8 to 15 years old, joined us — on a bright, sunny day — to have some fun with the sun.    

Hot Rod set up a full array of solar experiments, including:  2017 Sept PHC Ellen Rohr 3

  • We got a piece of paper smoking with magnifying glass. 
  • Hot Rod let loose a little solar car. He and our son, Max, built it when Max was 10 years old. The kids quickly figured out that their shadows would slow down and stop the car. 
  • You know those reflective insulating shields you can put on your dashboard to reflect the sun and keep your car cool? Hot Rod demonstrated a solar oven made from one of those. A little Velcro to make a round shape, and you are good to go. 
  • He shared how to make a solar oven with an old tire: 
  1. Lay the tire on your driveway in a sunny spot.
  2. Insulate the inside and bottom of the tire with crumpled newspaper.
  3. Line the inside of the tire with aluminum foil.
  4. Place your food inside. Start with apple slices or oatmeal, for food safety, before you move on to,  say, a chicken.
  5. Top the tire with a sheet of glass.
  6. Take a look at the photo.
  7. Or, you can buy a simple solar oven. 

Hot Rod topped an evacuated-tube solar collector with a tea kettle. During the course of the hour-long event, the water heated to 195 F. He explained how a vacuum is a perfect insulator and why the outer layer of the collector was so cool. 

  • He connected a photovoltaic panel to a pump, which delivered water to a flat-panel thermal solar collector. This was a nice way to talk about the difference between PV and solar collection. 
  • Hot Rod also passed around those tiny, ultra-thin PV strips. In this way, he demonstrated the connection between panel size and output.
  • The crowd favorite: Hot Rod’s solar backpack. The panels on the back charge a battery in one of the pockets. The battery is just perfect for charging your phone or tablet. “I severely need one of those,” said one of the participants.

2017 Sept PHC Ellen Rohr 2Hot Rod had gauges and thermometers on everything. The kids had lots of questions, and they had a few problems already identified. Like, what do you do with the extra hot water? And, is battery technology capable of handling PV storage requirements? It was a sharp crowd. There were some neat, organic learning moments, too. The dark PV panel was hot, yet the white table on which it was sitting was cool. And the event took place in front of a glass-cube office building. One of the kids asked, “Could that whole building be solar panels?” It sure could.  

My favorite part was how some of the kids were making connections between the simple components and how one might configure them. Someone asked, “You could create a gofundme or Kickstarter for a new product?” Absolutely!   

It was a wonderful event! Hats off to the folks at Comfort Sales and FSC MEP Engineers. Hot Rod’s demo (thanks, Caleffi NA) was part of a day designed to introduce the children to the world of engineering and alternative energy. They involved their team members to lead activities in CAD design, basic coding and world-wide approaches to energy. They led a rousing game of Bingo to review all that they had experienced.  

Finally, they topped the day off with Make-Your-Own Sundaes. Certainly, there are engineering skills involved in making a banana split!  

I was super proud of Hot Rod’s presentation. He was lovely to the kids, encouraging with their questions and respectful of their differing levels of understanding.

My hope is to inspire you to engage in local community events, to educate young people of all ages to embrace the opportunities in the trades. Alternative energy is the most exciting emerging market across the globe. Each of us has a unique experience within the energy and contracting world. From engineering to hands-on installations to manufacturing to journalism to business building and more! How cool to share these experiences with those who will ultimately take our places and move our communities towards prosperous, sustainable, energy and building solutions. 

2017 Sept PHC Ellen Rohr 4A few more resources…

  • The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science. This tome is full of fun, messy ideas for introducing physics and chemistry to youngsters. Homemade lightning? Tea-bag hot air balloon? Yes, please!  
  • Check out this cool Kickstarter campaign for solar window shades at bit.do/SolarWindowShades. It’s a super smart idea and so entrepreneurial. We’ve contributed. 
  • Go to www.planetsmarty.com; I like the site name and their fun projects for kids! 

Are you already doing cool, educational activities in your community? We at PHC News would love to hear it! Email me at ellen@ellenrohr.com, or the editors sharon@tmbpublishing.com or sarah@tmbpublishing.com. We love pictures, too! 

Contacts 

David Kaibel

Comfort Sales Agency Inc.

(618) 656-1655

d.kaibel@comfortsales.com

Sonia Garapaty

FSC Inc.

www.fsc-inc.com

Mindy Gilbert

FSC MEP Engineers LLC, Subsidiary of FSC Inc.

(816) 333-4373

mgilbert@fscmep.com

Amy Stadler

FSC MEP Engineers LLC

(816) 333-4373

astadler@fscmep.com

Alternative Energy Contractors & Installers Projects Solar Power Technology Training & Education
  • Related Articles

    Little Kids and the Family Business

    Metabo HPT and Outdoor Channel Drop Zone TV Partner to Bring Cordless PowerTools to the Outdoors

    Air Pros All In for the Kids Poker Tournament Raises Over $160,000 for Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County

  • Related Events

    Women in Energy Webinar Wednesdays

Ellen rohr
Ellen Rohr

Is sleep the new sex?

More from this author
You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular

  • Chicago Plumber’s Union Dyes Chicago River Green for St. Patrick’s Day 2023

  • Everything You Wanted to Know About Orangeburg Pipe (But Were Afraid To Ask)

  • Vote Now! Plumbing Design of the Year: A Readers’ Choice Award

  • The Basis for Most Plumbing Codes

Featured Video

Caleffi video thumb

The Gold Standard: Separation with NO Compromise

Industry Events

  • 26Mar

    MCAA 2023 Annual Convention

    Phoenix, AZ
  • 29Mar

    2023 SFPE European Conference & Expo

    Berlin ,
  • 11Apr

    ASA ELEVATE2023

    Charleston, SC
More Events

Subscribe to our newsletters & stay updated

Subscribe & Learn More

  • Tw03 2023 cover
    Learn More
  • Pe03 2023 cover
    Learn More
  • Phc03 2023 cover
    Learn More
  • Es 2022
    Learn More
Subscribe

More from PHCP Pros

  • Editorial Team
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • About
  • Advertise

Follow Us

© 2023 All Rights Reserved

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development | ePublishing