It seems like solar power and electric technologies are making headlines weekly with new ways they are incorporated into our lives.

For a group of students and teachers at MCCTC in Canfield, it was those technologies that helped them come up with a new way to make an impact at the school.

"Our superintendent told us to look at the curriculum beyond the current times but about 5 years into the feature," says Seth Basista, a science teacher at MCCTC. 

From there the group got busy, drafting out their plans for what would eventually help power up the curriculum across campus.

"Because we wanted to use this as an educational tool and not just a solar generator we wanted to make sure we wanted to make sure we were showing everything out front. How to gauge water appropriately will be a big part of the curriculum, how to fuse everything appropriately to make it safe, how to monitor solar, how to calculate energy needs, and how to spec a system out based on their energy needs," adds Basista. 

Not only do these mobile solar generators stay in the classroom, but they also have wheels, so they can go anywhere. Which really helps them build their curriculum outside of the school.

Their final design included anything from a speaker for audio to a weather station to help them read real-time weather observations while they're learning outside.

For the students involved in the project, it was a way to be involved in an innovative project that wouldn't just help teach the students in their class but other classes at the school too.

"I was really interested to see what components you could power off of two solar panels and what kinds of tools you can run. We have an outdoor farm, a couple of teachers wanted the capability to run power equipment out there in case they have to do a project like a power drill or grinder," says MCCTC senior Nicholas Gardner. 

The unit has the capability to go to any classroom, inside or out, and has a variety of uses.