Cooperative Living January 2015 - 27

CAUGHT IN THE WEB by Megan McKoy-Noe, Contributing Writer
Plugged In Kids
Website Offers Fun Ways to
" Switch On " Youth to Energy Efficiency
G
etting children excited about
energy efficiency may seem
hard - for some parents, it's
enough of a challenge to get them to do
chores. But a website has been designed
with young energy savers in mind.
Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives,
the brand " ID " of the nation's notfor-profit,
consumer-owned electric
cooperatives, offers Kids Energy Zone
(www.kidsenergyzone.com) featuring a
spunky energy efficiency mascot, CFL
Charlie. The site is designed to teach
children in kindergarten through fifth
grade how to be Super Energy Savers
in their homes. The Kids Zone also
includes interactive games, videos,
activity sheets, and surprises.
" The website is all
about engagement, "
explains Ruben Musca,
senior national advertising
& communications
advisor for Touchstone
Energy. " This is a way
for parents to interact
with children so the family
can focus on energy
efficiency together, and
help everyone develop
energy efficient habits
that will last a lifetime.
Through fun activities,
students and their parents
learn about energy,
electrical safety, and
energy savings. "
January 2015/www.co-opliving.com
For example, Lights Out! - an energysaving
game in the Kids Zone - challenges
kids to speed through a virtual
house, replacing traditional incandescent
lightbulbs with energy efficient compact
fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) and turning
off lights and appliances as fast as
possible. The less energy a player uses
by the time everything's off, the better
the score.
" Playing the Lights Out! game and taking
kids through a house with an energy
efficiency checklist, which parents can find
in the Kids Zone, are great ways to work
together to get good habits started, "
Musca recommends.
Teachers searching for ways to help
students focus on energy efficiency have
several resources available. Some
Touchstone Energy co-ops provide schools
with CFL Charlie Super Energy Saver kits.
" Each kit accommodates a class of 30
students and includes a checklist that
children can use to help guide their parents
on an 'energy efficiency expedition,' "
Musca explains. " In the exercise, kids
walk through the house with their mom
and dad to make sure the refrigerator
door is closed, and they discuss switching
out incandescent bulbs with CFLs,
turning off all lights after leaving a
room, and shutting off computers when
not in use. "
Finished checklists signed by children
and parents are submitted to teachers
for a certificate declaring the student
" an official Touchstone Energy
Cooperatives Super Energy Saver. "
Certificates carry the image and signature
of CFL Charlie.
" The kits also contain classroom
activities such as connect-the-dots and
word search games, " Musca adds.
" Handing out these materials provides a
great way to influence household energy
efficiency. "
The latest addition to the kit is an
educational coloring book.
" As a kid growing up, I loved coloring
books - it's what kept me entertained
on weeknights, road trips, anywhere, "
Musca concluded. " The new
10-page coloring book we've added
can keep kids entertained and educate
them about energy savings at the same
time. "
Plug into these resources and more at
www.kidsenergyzone.com. 
Source: Touchstone Energy®
Cooperatives
Child-friendly
energy efficiency
websites:
www.kidsenergyzone.com
www.energystar.gov/kids
www.eia.gov/kids/
www.energyhog.org
For direct links to
suggested websites, visit
www.co-opliving.com.
25
TOUCHSTONE ENERGY COOPERATIVES
http://www.kidsenergyzone.com http://www.kidsenergyzone.com http://www.kidsenergyzone.com http://www.energystar.gov/kids http://www.eia.gov/kids/ http://www.energyhog.org http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living January 2015

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