Students at Middlesex Elementary School (MES) will find a bright new learning opportunity this fall in their schoolyard. Kenneth Beam, a new Eagle Scout from local Christchurch Boy Scout Troop 341, has created an outdoor learning center to teach students and families about the basics of solar energy at the MES solar farm. The six-paneled lesson takes students on a tour of solar energy from origins in the solar system, to the basic physics of the photoelectric effect, photosynthesis in plants and then the schematic function of a solar panel.
Students will learn some history of solar energy science with a nod to Einstein and his famous E=mc2, and the discovery of the transfer of energy by physicist Max Planck. The famous Planck’s constant is used to calculate the amount of energy transferred by one photon of sunlight to the solar panel. One of the signs summarizes the benefits of the solar farm with the specifics on the amount of energy generated, financial benefits to the community, and attributions to the Middlesex County School Board, School Superintendent Dr. Peter Gretz and to SunTribe Solar, which engineered and installed the system.
In Scouts BSA, attaining the rank of Eagle requires that the Scout has met a series of required ranks and merit badges over many years, and that he undertakes a special service project. The Eagle Scout project must benefit the community, and requires that the Scout demonstrate leadership by involving the troop in its execution.
A recent summa cum laude graduate of Middlesex High School and Chesapeake Bay Governor’s School, Kenneth is attending Virginia Tech this fall to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering.
