National Mall Hosts Twenty Student-Built Homes in Solar Decathlon

Posted Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Featured on Episode 5 of the 2009-2010 season

The National Mall in Washington DC is the site of another U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. Students from twenty universities around the world have designed and built high-efficiency solar-powered homes. Now the teams are competing in ten contests on the mall that simulate real world use of their houses. They do laundry, cook, and watch TV - just like in any other family home - but all of the electricity and hot water is generated by the sun. The event runs through October 18th.

Additional Information

Solar Decathlon Home Page
Solar Decathlon resources for teachers
More from The Dirt
Ohio State University Solar Decathlon House

Lesson Plan

Projects and lessons for classrooms from the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, plus dozens of links to other sites with classroom resources.

Grades: 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade
Subjects: Science

Download the lesson plan PDF

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