The Solar Energy SEEDPACK is contained within a handy backpack, complete with onboard solar cells..

SEED Delivers Technology To Go

Can SEED offer educational technology to underserved communities lacking electricity? The question was a long-standing challenge until October 2005. The answer came to SEED Technology Manager Steve Gomez during a brainstorming session with SEED volunteer Kirti Mansukhani, a mechanical engineer at the Schlumberger Product Center (SPC) in Houston.  The solution was straightforward; SEED would offer themed activities to students and teachers in a self-contained, portable kit. What has materialized just over twelve months later is SEED’s newest achievement—the SEEDPACK.

“The development of the SEEDPACK is a perfect example of what SEED teaches in our workshops--that we can use science and technology in a creative and fun way to solve everyday problems,” Gomez explains. “This type of active learning is at the heart of SEED’s mission.”

Each SEEDPACK includes material and documentation for students to run a science project with a teacher or SEED volunteer. They are designed to complement the SEED Online Science Center and to be used at SEED schools and workshops. SEEDPACK prototypes have been tested at workshops for students and teachers in Malaysia, Mexico and Venezuela. The response has been enthusiastic and positive.

In December, SEED will proudly launch the Solar Energy SEEDPACK, the first in a series of these new learning tools.  It will contain materials and instructions for studying and applying energy generated by the sun and be rolled out in workshops worldwide. Volunteers will be taught how to use them in training sessions throughout 2007 and beyond. 

Outfitted with a powerful learning tool like the Solar Energy SEEDPACK, the only limit a committed SEED volunteer faces is, well … a solar eclipse!

Learn more about the SEEDPACK in the new Energy Project section of the SEED web site.

The SEEDPACK is currently available for order only by SEED Coordinators and Volunteers for use in local activities through SWPS (Schlumberger Web-based Procurement System) or by visiting the SEED Volunteer Center. 

Check out the new SEED Energy Project, where volunteers, teachers and students can study a variety of energy sources and learn how to put their knowledge to practical use.

Read the latest Voices story, A Personal Glimpse into Learning While Doing, by Ahmed Saleh, a Schlumberger Mechanical Engineer and SEED Volunteer who led a SEED workshop in Port Said, Egypt in July 2006.