The world of renewable energies: powerado

The aim of this research project was to investigate effective communication to promote renewable energies among children and young people. To this end, materials were developed for different age groups and for multipliers, on the basis of which successful communication strategies for renewable energies could be determined. The project aimed to find different ways to address the deficits by creating a variety of materials of different types to experience, learn and teach about renewable energy.

The project addressed different target groups in nine modules:

• Module 1 - Online game: Internet game for playing with renewable energies
• Module 2 - Knowledge quiz on renewable energies: Knowledge test and information offers for children between eight and twelve years of age
• Module 3 - Renewables in a Box Junior: Material box for four to six-year-olds for use in kindergartens
• Module 4 - Renewables in a Box Primary: Materials box for six to 12-year-olds for use in primary schools
• Module 5 - Renewables in a Box Next Generation: Material box for eight to 12-year-olds for use in youth leisure centres
• Module 6 - ExperienceEE: Large-scale experiments on renewable energies for school events
• Module 7 - Travelling exhibitionEE: Travelling exhibition with good examples of school campaigns on the subject of renewable energies
• Module 8 - Renewable energy trades with a future: Brochure with the presentation of training job profiles and the development and testing of support programmes for vocational training (biomass/wood combustion, photovoltaics and solar thermal energy)
• Module 9 - Teacher training/focus groups: Investigate higher education with regard to the integration of renewable energy in teacher training and develop a seminar on renewable energy and establish a multiplier network for renewable energy in schools

The research project was honoured in November 2005 as an official project of the World Decade 2006/2007 by the German UNESCO Commission - National Committee for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

The Federal Ministry for the Environment extended the project and from 2009 to 2012 it ran under the name powerado-plus.