Outreach

the H2fromH2O Outreach Project

Project Overview

In the Fall of 2010, the H2fromH2O project was funded as part of a NSF funded
American Competitiveness in Chemistry (ACC-F) fellowship. The project involves
using simple homebuilt amperostats to control the electrolysis of water to for its
elemental components, hydrogen gas (H2) and oxygen gas (O2). As shown below,
two kits of 10 electrostations each were assembled. Each kit contains everything
necessary for an instructor of 6 classes (30-40 students each) to perform the
experiment in groups of 3-4.

The website http://www.H2fromH2O.org is under development as a resource for both prospective and participating instructors at the middle school and high school levels.

         Downloads:
          Instructor Lesson Plan & Student Worksheet
          Instructor Manual

Moreover, the H2fromH2O Kits are available for check out for free by local middle school science teachers, as well as and high school chemistry teachers. Each Kit contains the following components:

         •10 Analog Electrostations (amperostats)
          •10 Nickel wire assemblies for quantitative gas measurements
          •10 Sets of alligator clips for kit assembly
          •10 12V Battery assemblies
          •60 Student datasheets (consumables)
          • 1 16V polycrystalline solar panel (10” x 10”, generates 500 mA under 1 sun)
          • 2 Instructor lesson plans + Teacher manuals
          • 1 Bound assembly manual
          • 1 500 g bottle of sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) electrolyte

                                                                                              Left: Two full 10-electrostation kits used in the loan-out program                                                                                                program (no charge, all reagents and supplies included) to local                                                                                                middle school and high school teachers. Depicted are the instructor                                                                                                lesson plans, electrostations, electrode assemblies and the solar                                                                                                panel demo unit (shown at rear).
                                                                                               Above: An assembled electrostation used in a “Saturday Science”                                                                                                program (Juice from Juice) for local teachers at Caltech.

Participating Schools and Programs

As of June 2012, the H2fromH2O Kits  have been used by over 800 middle school and high school students in the greater Los Angeles area, specifically within the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys. The following schools have benefited from the H2fromH2O kits, at no cost!
                    •Pasadena High School (Pasadena CA, November 2010)
                    •El Serreno Middle School and Magnet Center (city of Los Angeles CA, May 2011)
                    •Academy of Scientific Exploration Middle School (March 2012)
                                        Cesar Chavez Learning Academies (San Fernando, CA)
                    •Lawrence Middle School (Chatsworth CA, April 2012)
                    •Wilson Middle School (Pasadena CA, May 2012)
                    •West Adams Prep HS (Los Angeles, CA, June 2012)

         Other beneficiaries of H2fromH2O
                    •Seattle's Hub for Industry-driven Nanotechnology Education, North Seattle Community College
                                             (Seattle, WA; Fall 2010-current)
                    •Caltech “Juice from Juice Workshops” for local middle and high school teachers (March-current)
                    •South Korea Space Camp, chemistry curriculum (Seoul, S. Korea; Summer 2012)

   The PI (Mike Rose) in action  at Pasadena High School ,                         A teacher learns about the H2fromH2O Kit at a       leading a discussion about renewable energy and H2.                               ”Teach the Teachers” (Seattle, WA)

  Caltech undergrad Tina Ding led a one-day lesson on                               Local middle school teachers and students
renewable energy and H2 generation at El Serrento Middle                                     are making H2 using sunlight! (Caltech)
                         School in Los Angeles city.

Teacher Testimonials

(Coming soon!!)