Sparking curiosity through hands-on learning!
We reached out to Christoper Katis and Gosia Skowron, who lead the Utah FORGE Outreach and Communication Team, to discuss their very popular classroom visits. When this school outreach began in 2021, the Team focused on 4th-5th graders; they have now expanded to middle and high schoolers. At first exclusive to Beaver County, where the Utah FORGE wells are drilled, they have now reached nearly 50 classrooms statewide, and even spoke to a group of home-schooled rural students. (Photo Credit: Eric Larson, Flash Point, SLC)
Each class visit starts with an age-appropriate presentation to introduce everyone to the concepts of geothermal energy, followed by hands-on experiments. Christopher and Gosia believe that using tactile and visual demonstrations engage students’ curiosity, and their most popular demonstrations are:
- Thermal camera lets them “see” heat signature changes
- Peltier Devices are used to power an LED with just the heat from their hands
- Rock samples collected from 8,500 feet below the surface are examined for minerals
- Sterling engines, thermo-electric generators, and handboilers are used to demonstrate heat transfer
- Interactive quizzes, with results tracked in real-time, test students’ newly acquired knowledge in a fun and competitive way
For more information on fun ways to teach geothermal visit the Utah FORGE website: https://utahforge.com/teacher-resources/
Utah FORGE’s program introduces young learners to topics outside of their typical curriculum. Their goal isn’t just to raise awareness, but also to spark questions and encourage critical thinking. Energy sources and usage is a topic that impacts their local communities, and is also a global scale concern.
In elementary classrooms, outreach efforts include a popular poster contest, where students research and illustrate a geothermal topic of interest. Did you know that bananas grow in Iceland and there are metal plated snails that live on underwater volcanoes in the Indian Ocean? The youth of Utah do and they’re making award winning art about it! The winning entries are celebrated at school and displayed in local libraries, reinforcing a link between science learning and community pride.
Inspired by the efforts to turn STEM into STEAM, a song parody contest was introduced to incorporate creative thinking into STEM teachings. It offers students a refreshing new way to look at the energy problems around them. Song parody competitions harness students’ creativity and challenge them to write and perform original lyrics to a well-known song. (check these out!): https://utahforge.com/outreach/song-parody-contest/
What’s the secret to such a successful program? Christopher and Gosia were emphatic: You have to be there - in the community! Attend the county fair and town hall meetings, be available to answer questions, and be a resource. When you become part of the community everyone from the local librarian, county commissioners, and young learners get excited about geothermal. Equally important, is to expand beyond the obvious reach and broaden the audience from legislators to AP physics students, from Chambers of Commerce to Universities across the state.
We’re glad to see students embrace learning and fun at the same time and only hope to foster more of it in the future. In the 2025–26 school year, Utah FORGE’s outreach efforts will look to continue expanding the program further to more public, private, charter, and rural schools across the state.
Read more about Utah FORGE’s community engagement work in this technical paper:
Best Practices for Community Engagement and Stakeholder Involvement – Case Study at Utah FORGE. https://publications.mygeoenergynow.org/grc/1034828.pdf
The GR Workforce Success Group believes that building real and lasting relationships with the communities where geothermal technology is developed will help to advance the industry. This might be by fostering an interest in geothermal, developing local talent, building opportunities for collaboration, or ensuring that the benefits of the geothermal good life are shared by all. It starts with a meaningful connection between people.
#Geothermal #Education #UtahFORGE #Community