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Learning is Powerful for 10,000 Students through MMPA’s Energy Education Program.

The Minnesota Municipal Power Agency achieved a major milestone this year – reaching more than 10,000 fourth grade students through its Energy Education Program since the program’s inception in 2010.

Spring tours to MMPA’s Faribault Energy Park (FEP) helped the Agency break the 10,000 student mark. In addition to the Faribault tours, MMPA hosts in-school assemblies for communities not within convenient reach of the power plant.

Tours at Faribault Energy Park offer a unique learning opportunity for students from MMPA’s member and project host communities. While touring the facility, students learn how the energy park’s three power sources generate electricity. From an observation room, they learn how the combined-cycle turbines with generation capacity of 300 MW generate electricity from natural gas and steam. From there, students travel to educational stations in the wetlands park to learn how FEP’s wind turbine and solar array produce renewable power.

In addition, students learn how electricity is transmitted over power lines and delivered to their homes. This year the tour expanded to include hands-on activities and tips for conserving energy from the Science Museum of Minnesota.

The Energy Education program is part of MMPA’s commitment to support its member communities and project host communities. The program aligns with Minnesota’s fourth grade science standards and teaches students about power generation, conservation and their local utility.

Photo: Bob Burchfield, Plant Manager of MMPA’s Faribault Energy Park facility, welcomes students to the power plant with a lesson on electricity.