Pam Miller (back row center) visits 5th Grade class at Harney Elementary School
Using the Renewable Fuels Association’s “Ethanol in the Classroom” curriculum as a guide, Miller says the students at Harney Elementary in South Sioux City Community Schools sat with rapt attention as she outlined how ethanol is produced, its environmental and economic impacts, and the overall use of the renewable fuel.
“The ethanol curriculum is an incredibly useful tool,” Miller wrote in a blog post for RFA. “It’s broken down into three levels: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, and Grades 9-12. After selecting the appropriate level, students choose a vehicle that runs on ethanol to navigate through the program. These students loved selecting the vehicles (the choices are a sports car, a motorcycle, a small car, or a pick up truck), and tracking the progress along the way. At the end of each stop, they completed activities to test how much they learned and then earned badges.”
Two weeks after her classroom visit, Miller returned the favor by hosting the students for a tour at Siouxland Ethanol. “I was surprised at how much the students remembered, including that ethanol is made primarily from corn and that the fuel is transported via railcars to the West Coast,” said Miller. “It won’t be long before these fifth graders are driving and I want to make sure they understand the numerous economic, environmental and energy security-related benefits of this fuel made in their own community.”