After my meeting with Mr. Bott I feel pretty comfortable with what I'm going to do for my public display of understanding. Over break I emailed Mr. Bott about an idea to use a prezi to bring the judges through the workings of geothermal energy. The problem with this project is that there is only so much you can do with a presentation no matter what people are able to look away and get easily distracted or bored. Mr. Bott told me that we should use a tangible item to help our viewers understand and feel more active in the presentation.
The main reason I am so interested in sustainable energy is from a club I did in middle school called Future Cities. In Future Cities we would make essays and a tangible city that solved a certain problem like food crisis or public transportation. I fell in love with problem solving and building from this club and Mr. Bott helped spark a connection between what I could do now and what I have done in the past. I'm planning on emailing my old advisor from this club and asking for some help with building and designing. I plan on making a comparison between engineered geothermal energy and natural geothermal energy with residential and urban areas. I will probably use wooden structures for the buildings and wire covered in molding clay for the piping systems. I will use a base made of plywood with two sections underneath the original structures, representing the ground below the homes and the cracks that allow the heat to be released.
My presentation will most likely revolve around costs and benefits. I will explain how they are different from traditionally powered homes and what everything means on the display, after that I will most likely talk about policy and public opinions as that is why geothermal energy is not as popular. I'm excited to get to work and get this project done!