The young people of today will be the scientists, engineers, marketers and CEOs ushering in, maintaining and sustaining the hydrogen economy of tomorrow. As such, many high schools around the country are being proactive in educating students about hydrogen fuel cells right now.
One of the biggest pushes is through the Washington State Fuel Cell Education and Demonstration Program. Through this program, 200 high school and middle school teachers will be trained on hydrogen fuel cell technology. These teachers will then educate 18,000 students about the same.
Every year the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) holds the National Science Bowl Hydrogen Fuel Cell Model Car Challenge. A pool of 16 to 18 teams is selected by lottery from hundreds of applying schools to participate in the challenge. Past winning schools have included Woodrow Wilson High School in Portland, OR, Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone, ME and Harker School of San Jose, CA.
In April 2004, North Port High School in Sarasota County, FL became the first high school demonstration site for next generation hydrogen fuel cell technology. The program combines clean energy technology with science education allowing students to work hands on in hydrogen laboratory experiments.
The International Youth Fuel Cell Competition (IYFCC) offers high school students from different countries a chance to compete against each other with their model hydrogen fuel cell cars. High school students from Pennsylvania, Arizona and Florida will represent the U. S. The Arizona Youth Fuel Cell Competition will be open to high school students, public and press on May 19, 2007 at Heritage and Science Park in Phoenix, Arizona and the winners will go on to compete in the IYFCC.
I also know that there is a lot of interest by high school students in hydrogen cars. Through this website, I have been contacted by many students wanting to know more about the subject and have even been interviewed by high school students from Crooms Academy of Information Technology in Sanford, FL and Gunn High School in Palo Alto, CA.
As high school students are busy getting excited by new technology and deciding about career paths, its good to know that some of our schools are going the extra yard to prepare students for a career in hydrogen technology. Today’s students and tomorrow’s hydrogen technology is the future for all of us.