If you're looking for a dog-gone good time for your class, this is a great place to start. My pals at Avista offer exciting and education tours and presentations to teach kids (and grownups, too!) about the wonderful creation of electricity. The presentation features a three-dimensional scale model of a complete hydroelectric system, including a miniature hand-crank generator. It also includes a ten-minute video on hydropower in the Northwest, a slide show, a question and answer session, and "hydro pop-ups" (paper cut-out models of a dam) for all students.

Kids learn how dams produce hydroelectric power through a scale model that shows how more energy must be produced when additional electrical appliances are used (it's called "peaking power"). And kids get a hands-on lesson on how more power is needed to power-up more appliances when they must turn the hand crank faster to generate a greater amount of electricity.

And that's not all. The "hydrologic cycle" is also described and renewable versus non-renewable sources of electrical generation are discussed. Students are also shown both the positive and negative impacts of hydroelectric power generation and the importance of heeding warning signs and other public safety devices around dams is also emphasized.

Please note that the preferred time to schedule this presentation is in the spring, prior to going on a tour of a hydroelectric dam where kids get to experience what they learned through the presentation. Hydroelectric dam tours are available at Avista’s Post Falls, Upper Falls, Cabinet Gorge, Nine Mile, Noxon Rapids, and Long Lake dams. Best time to take a tour is during the spring runoff (April and May), when spillgates are open and the students have a more spectacular view of the cascading water.