Classroom on the Go Pulls in at Copper Beech

If students at Lakeland Copper Beech Middle School wanted a change of scenery from their stationary classrooms, the Green Machine, which pulled into the school parking lot this month, was the perfect diversion. The Tech Center at Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES rolled out the hands-on seven-station trailer to teach students about renewable, sustainable energy.

The Green Machine hit the road for the first time last May, when it visited Peekskill Middle School. Plans are for the trailer to visit as many schools as possible in the coming year.

Retired engineer Paul Purpura, who travels from BOCES with the Green Machine, taught the students about alternative energy while demonstrating the stations. The Green Machine was made possible by  a collaboration of many of the Tech Center academies.

Excited students participated in smart electronics, construction electricity and masonry, among other stations.

At the Masonry/Plumbing station, students learned how solar heating can reduce energy cost in the home by placing their hands on concrete and granite blocks to gauge warmth, and turning valves to transfer heat from mock solar panels to parts of the house. One student exclaimed, “We hear a lot about alternative energy, but it’s so much more interesting when we get to experience it for ourselves.”

Said Tech Center Principal Jim Bellucci, “We are very pleased with  how well the visit to  Copper Beech went. Students and staff there were thrilled, and we received wonderful feedback from the surveys students completed.”