Clark Public Utilities staff are thrilled about the return of a favorite seasonal tradition at the utility’s Operations Center: student tours with local elementary school students.
For four days a week, every week from October to June, groups of about 50 local students get a firsthand look into the round-the-clock work supplies Clark County with a safe, affordable, reliable and environmentally conscious supply of water and electricity.
Student tours are a time-honored tradition that has welcomed thousands of students across more than three decades. In 2018, more than 5,000 fourth- and fifth-graders from 63 schools walked the Operations Center’s halls. The tours were paused during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but students are once again being welcomed into the utility.
“Welcoming the students back to our facilities has been very exciting for our staff,” said Education Engagement Specialist Amber Hall. “As sad as we were to have to take some time off due to the pandemic, we used that time to add some very special new features and improvements to make their visits all the more meaningful and educational.”
The tours are hosted in a newly remodeled classroom filled with splices of electrical cables, electrical equipment and spanned by a mini installation of overhead power lines. But the tour really begins days before, when students and teachers dive into the many engaging and interactive resources at the utility’s educational website powerzone.clarkpublicutilities.com.
At the warehouse, students learn how electricity is stepped down from extremely high levels for distribution to the 120 volts we use at home.
Students learn that squirrels once caused many blackouts in around the country, and, unfortunately, cooked themselves in the process, but the industry has since invested in protective caps for pole-mounted transformers, which mitigate the issue and protect wildlife. That lesson is an easy transition into a lesson on why it’s so dangerous to touch downed power lines or climb trees near overhead lines.
The salvage area always brings out a few gasps when students learn that the utility saves about $300,000 per year by recycling the metals used on the grid.
Next, students walk through the fleet area where the line trucks are parked. Each rig is equipped with a lift and all the tools crews need to repair utility lines. As they’re introduced to the job, the students are reminded that being a “lineman” isn’t just for boys, that any of the girls are welcome to be part of the trade. Before they go, they’re introduced to the utility’s impressive new hand-painted mural that proudly displays linemen and two utility trucks out in the field.
When the group returns to the classroom, the topic switches to water. Their guide walks them through an interactive lesson about the water cycle and how it delivers the fresh water we all depend on. But, with the help of a topographic diorama of a little community, they see how easily pollutants can slide off our roads and yards and contaminate the water supply—which is bad for people and the wildlife around us.
They also learn that protecting that wildlife, specifically salmon through environmental restoration, is what StreamTeam is all about and they’re all welcome to volunteer.
The tour wraps up with fun demonstrations of the power and dangers of electricity, including a spin on the generator bike, a literally hair-raising experience on the Van de Graaf generator.
Energy Adviser is written by Clark Public Utilities. Send questions to ecod@clarkpud.com or to Energy Adviser, c/o Clark Public Utilities, P.O. Box 8900, Vancouver, WA 98668.
