Youth Awards Program for Energy Achievement
NEED encourages all students and classrooms to get involved in energy outreach.
By doing so, students take ownership of their learning, are able to show confidence in their knowledge gains, and become leaders in the classroom. NEED’s annual Youth Awards Program for Energy Achievement rewards students for their efforts in energy outreach and student leadership.
Free to participate, this program combines academic competition with recognition to acknowledge everyone involved in NEED during the year – and to recognize those who achieve excellence in energy education in their schools and communities. The students and teachers set goals and objectives and keep a record of their activities. In April, the students combine their materials into presentations and submit them online.
Once student projects are submitted, NEED convenes a panel of industry and education experts to review projects. Youth Awards Signature and Foundations Project participants are recognized for their efforts.
Signature Project submissions are judged at the state and national levels, with the opportunity to attend the Youth Energy Conference and Awards in Washington, D.C. in June!
In June, we had a fantastic team of NEED student interns and youth staff to help host nearly 300 students and teachers for our 44th Annual Youth Energy Conference and Awards in Washington, D.C.
We began the conference with the opportunity for students to hear from a wonderful panel of energy industry professionals. The Q&A was a great way for students to gain insight into various academic paths taken while learning about a variety of energy industries, tips on the career workforce, and fun facts.
Students got to meet peers from across the nation and work together in grade-level teams on a STEM Challenge. Elementary students learned about insulation and conduction by designing and testing their model version of an ice cream truck. Intermediate level students were tasked to use a toilet paper roll to build and analyze a vehicle that is powered solely by gravitational potential energy. Secondary level students learned about circuits and electric vehicles by building and testing models of an EV car.
It wasn’t all just hands-on energy fun as school groups also got to tour Washington, DC, cruise the Potomac River on a sunset dinner cruise, enjoy fun activities and networking with other schools from across the nation, and most importantly were recognized during the special Awards Ceremony for their winning school projects.
View all the fun with photos captured throughout the event here and watch the slideshow the Youth Staff Interns put together. And a very special thank you to Cape Light Compact, CITGO, and Phillips 66 for helping sponsor our 44th event!
Interested in having your students submit a project for NEED’s National Youth Awards Program for Energy Achievement?
Projects are due April 15th each year. We hope you consider submitting a project for 2025 as we celebrate our 45th year! This program is a staple of The NEED Project that exemplifies our Kids Teaching Kids philosophy, and we invite you to garner inspiration from past winning projects here!