BackDIY Solar Lanterns While Aspiring Towards a ‘Purpose Driven Light’
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HBGCC - 302BC
Trips and Tours
Blended ContentSession description
Outline
1. How It Started/Where We’re Going: 15 minutes: Storytelling format, authentic and true to heart
- It Started Inside a Tour Bus: Witnessing poverty in South Africa 13 years ago and wanting to make a difference (video from 2011).
- Finding the Changemakers: searching for like minded designers and engineers willing to support the cause
Our First Outcomes: Instructional manuals, assembly videos, and assessments for the ‘educational’ solar lantern will be shared. Side note: a portion of the sales of the original solar lanterns were donated back towards providing photovoltaics to those in energy poverty.
- Our Next Outcome: Power it Forward: participants are introduced to the “Purpose Driven Light” movement; engineering solar lanterns specified to accommodate impoverished communities. This two tier lantern project creates a ‘make a lantern, give a lantern’ model that is both educational and humanitarian in nature.
2. Build a Lantern: 30 minutes: Hands on Creation Lab: Step by step instructions will be provided through a series of videos plus hands on demonstrations
- Safety: Soldering techniques and safety will be outlined and demonstrated
- Assembly: Participants will solder the photovoltaic panels, LEDs and battery packs onto the PCB onto a partially pre-assembled jar lid.
- Quality Check: if properly assembled, the lanterns should be self sufficient: charging the batteries by day but then automatically lighting the LEDs at night.
Customizing/Weatherproofing: time permitting, the lanterns are weatherproofed for outdoor use and decorated in order to put in ‘art’ side of STEAM.
3. Wrap Up and Extensions: 10 minutes: Participants are reminded that the ultimate intention of this future mission is for students to “Build a Lantern, Then Give a Lantern”. Future extensions include challenges such as engineering a sustainably self charging photovoltaic system that provides a certain duration and degree of light for a given location (of known peak sun hours) and a set budget.
- We also want to take a realistic look at a complex and global problem. What kind of outcomes do we hope to get out of this project? The degree of impact relies upon many factors, from the support of our stakeholders, the dedication of our project leaders, our collaboration with social support networks, and the complex needs of the marginalized communities themselves.
Supporting research
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0973082619301966
https://acumen.org/blog/lighting-the-way-a-look-at-solar-energys-impact-on-poverty-alleviation/
https://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/document/657/haitisolarlightsevaluationfinalreportcleared11102014.pdf
https://humanitarian.mit.edu/project/solar-lanterns-evaluation/
Presenters
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ISTE Standards:
Change Agent
- Create a shared vision and culture for using technology to learn and accelerate transformation through the coaching process.
Equity and Citizenship Advocate
- Model the use of technology in inclusive, healthy ways to solve problems and strengthen community.
Global Collaborator
- Explore local and global issues and use collaborative technologies to work with others to investigate solutions.