Mobile Energy Education Trailer Makes Hit With Local Visits
1 min read
School students and members of the public learned about energy issues during appearances at the county seat by the Mobile Energy Education Training Unit (MEET-U).
The 44-foot-long trailer with exhibits was developed by Friends of Drake Well and the petroleum industry, and sponsored locally by Pennsylvania General Energy. Potter County Natural Gas Task Force and Pennsylvania CareerLink also supported the visit.
MEET-U explains how petroleum is formed, found, produced, refined, used, and conserved. It addresses growing public concern about the rising costs of energy, the environmental impacts of producing it, and the search for alternative energy sources. MEET-U’s interactive exhibits increase awareness of how dependent daily lifestyles are on energy and products made from oil and natural gas. MEET-U also educates audiences about the role of petroleum in the search for — and manufacturing of — alternative energy sources, as well as encouraging students to consider pursuing careers in science and engineering.
The exhibits include videos, scale models of tools, contemporary well-drilling photographs, and pieces of Marcellus Shale, the sedimentary rock from which natural gas reserves are being produced. After a stop at Coudersport Elementary School, the trailer moved to the courthouse square for tours by visitors to the Falling Leaves Festival.
The accompanying photos are by Amy Thompson, who facilitated the MEET-U visit. At left, Elementary School faculty member Jason Streich applies the sniff test to a piece of freshly pulverized Marcellus Shale, from which the petroleum odor was unmistakable.
