Up Your Energy Education Game with KEEP

Wisconsin’s K-12 Energy Education Program (KEEP), connects formal and non-formal K-12 educators in Wisconsin with quality energy education opportunities and materials. Continue reading for some upcoming highlights, and be sure to subscribe to our monthly KEEP Current newsletter to stay up-to-date. Contact KEEP at 715-346-4770 or keep@uwsp.edu if you have any questions. 

Trainings 

• KEEP trainings help educators in all grade levels and subject areas integrate energy concepts into their curriculum using various teaching strategies and assessment techniques. 
• KEEP also offers self-paced, online trainings for educators and community members. Our recently revamped Energy Education: Concepts and Practices – On-Demand includes activities that explore energy readings, reading utility bills, home energy audits and calculating the wattages of various home appliances. 

Renew Our Schools 

Renew Our Schools is a six-week energy conservation competition KEEP offers to Wisconsin K-12 public and private schools in partnership with Resource Central and FOCUS ON ENERGY®. Small cohorts compete for cash prizes as student teams implement energy actions in their school and monitor real-time electricity use of their school buildings. The fall 2024 cycle runs from Oct. 7 through Nov. 15. The deadline to enroll is Sept. 15, 2024! 

Green Team mini grants 

KEEP and our utility partners support Green Team mini grants, which allow Wisconsin K-12 student groups to apply to receive $300 to $700 for a project to reduce the carbon footprint of their school community. Past projects include switching to LEDs, installing smart power strips, and mapping building heat loss. Applications will reopen in the fall for the 2024-2025 school year. Sign up on our grant contact list to stay informed. 

Energy Educator of the Year 

KEEP is looking for nominations for the Wisconsin Energy Educator of the Year Award. The $1,000 award recognizes and rewards exemplary kindergarten through high school, formal and non-formal energy educators in Wisconsin who have made energy education a priority in their teaching and/or community outreach initiatives. Nominate yourself or others for this award by Oct. 25, 2024. 

Energy kits 

KEEP offers an amazing array of educational kits available to educators. Kits can be borrowed for a few weeks at a time and contain fun hands-on activities. 

Our Elementary Energy Explorations Kit is the newest addition to our lineup. It provides the materials to run lessons that challenge students to explain the phenomenon of how flipping a light switch leads to filling a room with light. 

KEEP is a program of the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. For the past 28 years, KEEP has been working with teachers, administrators and energy resource managers to increase and improve energy education in Wisconsin schools. KEEP is funded by six utilities in Wisconsin—Alliant Energy, Madison Gas and Electric, We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, WPPI Energy and Xcel Energy.