TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Racing With the Sun Creating a Solar Car
Students use engineering design principles to construct and test a fully solar powered car. Several options exist, though we recommend the "Junior Solar Sprint" (JSS) Car Kits that can be purchased with direction from the federal...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Let the Sun Shine!
Students learn how the sun can be used for energy. They learn about passive solar heating, lighting and cooking, and active solar engineering technologies (such as photovoltaic arrays and concentrating mirrors) that generate electricity....
Read Works
Read Works: Electricity & Energy Energy
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about energy. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Read Works
Read Works: Soft Cell
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about solar cells being made of plastic. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Read Works
Read Works: Solar Absorbers and the Future of Electricity
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about solar panels being used to create electricity. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Read Works
Read Works: Solar Solo
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the invention of a solar powered airplane. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Earth Science: Solar Power
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How solar energy can be used and its consequences.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Earth Science: Solar Power
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How solar energy can be collected and used, and the consequences of it.
Other
Flasolar: Solar Energy
An overview of practical uses of solar energy. Information and basic facts about solar energy use in homes and businesses. Covers the history, economics, and ecology of solar energy and includes pictures and schematics of solar technology.
Other
Sun Wind Solar Industries, Inc.
Solar energy facts and information. Instructions on how to build solar devices.
US Energy Information Administration
U.s. Eia: Energy Kids: Renewable Energy: Solar
This is a resource on solar energy, photovoltaic energy, solar thermal heat, solar thermal power plants and other forms of energy.
Energy for Sustainable Development
Esd Bulgaria: Kids & Energy: Solar Energy
Explains what solar energy is, how it differs from photovoltaic energy, and how it is harnessed to produce electric power for humans.
E-learning for Kids
E Learning for Kids: Mediterranean Sea: What Sort of Energy Is Provided by the Sun?
Lorani is a mermaid who lives underwater in the ocean. What she loves most in the world is the sun. Join her and learn about the sun, too.
US Department of Energy
U.s. Department of Energy: Energy Basics: Renewable Energy: Solar Energy
Find out about renewable energy resources using solar energy technologies. Learn about the use of photovoltaic cells and the capture of the sun's energy.
US Energy Information Administration
U.s. Eia Energy Kids: Timelines: Solar Thermal
Timeline of key milestones in the use of solar power as a source of renewable energy.
PBS
Pbs: How Do Solar Panels Work?
We've seen them for years on rooftops, atop highway warning signs, and elsewhere, but how many of us know how solar panels actually work? How do the photovoltaic cells that lie at the heart of them turn sunlight ("photo") into...
American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History: Solar Power O Logy Card
OLogy cards are like virtual baseball cards about all kinds of science topics. This card contains essential facts about solar power.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Activity: Solar Stadium Challenge
A project for students to imagine they are writing a proposal for a bid to design and construct a football stadium that is heated by solar power. As a structural engineering, the students will be creating this proposal for a new NFL team...
Creative Science Centre
Creative Science Centre: Solar Powered Swimming Pool Heater
Commercially made swimming pool heaters used to help warm up the water are often very expensive. Described here is a cheap and simple passive solar heater.
NASA
Climate Kids: 10 Interesting Things About Energy
Discover 10 very interesting things about energy, including conservation, fossil fuels, daylight savings time, hydropower, wind energy, solar power, greenhouse gases and BTUs (British Thermal Units).
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Energy From the Sun
[Free Registration/Login Required] Energy from the sun causes great things to happen on Earth from the water cycle to wind and waves. This flipchart includes video clips and student assessment.
NASA
Nasa: Helios, the Solar Powered High Flyer
This site is an article on, "Helios can fly higher than any other airplane! And it uses only the Sun's energy for fuel!"
Science4Fun
Science4 Fun: Solar Energy
What is solar energy? Learn about solar heating, solar electricity generation, and the advantages and disadvantages of solar power.