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Show Wed/Thurs/Fri, May 31-June 2, 2017 The Park Record A-10 Project gives museum a jolt Bubba Brown/Park Record The science fair project of Emma Greally, a seventh-grader at Ecker Hill Middle School, was displayed at the Leonardo Museum in Salt Lake City over the weekend. The project allows users to pedal the bicycle to charge a 12-volt battery. Greally says she dreamed up the bike because she’s interested in renewable energy. Renewable-energy bike is product of years of work By Bubba Brown The Park Record For three years, Emma Greally, a seventh-grader at Ecker Hill Middle School, has earned accolades for a science fair project that aims to create renewable energy through pedaling a bicycle. And she recently earned something else: a bigger audience. Greally’s project was featured in an exhibit at the Leonardo Museum in Salt Lake City over the weekend, offering another chance to show off the bike she’s been working on since she was in fifth grade. “I’m really grateful because it’s such an amazing opportunity,” she said in an interview last week. “It’s an amazing museum. I’m just really, really happy to be able to go there.” Greally said she first became interested in renewable energy when her younger brother, Connor, came home talking about it one day after learning about the topic in school. She set about creating her own source of renewable energy and came up with a bicycle that powers a 12-volt battery connected to a converter that allows users to plug in things like cell phone and computer charges. She was immediately successful, advancing from the Park City School District science fair to the Salt Lake Valley Science and Engineering Fair three years ago, a feat she has repeated each of the last two years. The project, though, has evolved considerably over that time, Greally said. In fact, an early mishap nearly derailed it altogether. She originally built the set-up without fuses or a voltage regulator, causing the battery to explode one day when she was trying to charge it. Her mother, Janice Ugaki, said Greally’s decision to continue working on the bike after that made it clear she was intent upon perfecting it. “A lot of people, including myself, would have quit then and said, ‘You know what? I don’t want to blow up the house,’” Ugaki said. “Instead, she looked at it and said, ‘I’m going to make it better next year so it doesn’t blow up the house.’ For a few months, it sat with some singed wires, but then she started from scratch again. It’s been wonderful for the whole family to watch it come to life.” Please see Student, A-11 Continued From A-9 School designs “A big part of our CTE department is that whole idea of overlaying what we learn in class into the real world and overlaying the real world into what we do in class,” he said. “It was great to take that one more step. This is a relevant issue, and learning needs to feel real. This was a real pitch to a real group of people making real decisions.” Brad Gannon, another teacher involved in the project, said some groups came up with ideas that would be impractical at an actual school, such as a shorter day and fewer class periods. But one common thread among the best projects was curricula that somewhat mirrored the courses offered at Ecker Hill. Many students chose to include technology and family and consumer science classes similar to the ones they’re currently taking. “They wanted those included in their school,” he said. “That says, to an extent, that they like what they’re doing here.” Marshall added that it was enlightening to see the students’ visions for the ideal learning environment. Too often, he said, their opinions aren’t taken into account when education officials make major decisions. A big part of our CTE department is that whole idea of overlaying what we learn in class into the real world and overlaying the real world into what we do in class. It was great to take that one more step. This is a relevant issue, and learning needs to feel real.” Trip Marshall Ecker Hill teacher “The students, if the school was a business, they’re our consumers,” he said. “How often do we ask our consumers what’s working and what’s not working, as opposed to us having our own ideas about things.” For their part, the students said they enjoyed digging into the project because of the autonomy their teachers afforded them. They were given parameters, but were free to come up with unique designs. In some ways, that made the project more challenging, but it was ultimately more rewarding. “In the beginning, everyone was kind of like, ‘OK, it’s just going to be another one of those projects where we just do whatever,’” said Abigail McLeod, who was part of one of the groups that presented to the committee. “Everyone thought the teachers would guide us through it. But they gave us just a little information and we had to work off that. We’d ask them questions, and they’d be like, ‘It’s your project. It’s your school.’” Another student, John Trahan, added that his group focused on creating a school his classmates would be excited to attend each day. The group’s final design aimed to improve many elements already found within the district’s existing schools. “We decided to make everything look nice,” he said. “When it’s like that, kids will enjoy the school more, and they’ll want to come see what it has to offer. We look forward to seeing if this new school incorporates any of our ideas.” Bubba Brown/park record (From left) Janne Koch, Abigail McLeod, Maggie Carlson and John Trahan are among the Park City students who dreamed up their own schools as part of a class project. They presented their ideas to the district committee tasked with designing a new school for fifth and sixth grades. Vote for the Saltz Team! 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