The second annual Auburn Public
Power Energy Fest, hosted by the
Auburn Board of Public Works
with support from Nebraska Public
Power District, was a major success.
The September 11 event,
held at the BPW service center,
drew 158 third, fourth, and fifth
graders from Auburn and Johnson-
Brock schools. The safety
demonstration by NPPD line and
substation crewmen from Humboldt
and Plattsmouth (left), that
showed children what could happen
if a kite contacts a 7,500 volt
power line, taught the children a
lesson they?ll remember the rest of
their lives. BPW employees baked
cookies, cooked brats, and inflated
balloons for the Fest guests. It
was a very positive event for all.
BPW Supervisor Al Witte, far left in the above photo, led the BPW team that planned and executed Energy Fest. BPW fired up their biggest 5800 horsepower generator for the kids. Even with earplugs, it was a noisy experience. BPW purchases Cooper power from NPPD, making
BPW our customer.
Upper photo, the Auburn schools fifth graders, and the Johnson-Brock third and fourth
graders, pose with Louie the Lightning Bug. Lower photo, Auburn fourth graders. A BPW
crewman played Louie. He says it was mighty warm inside that costume, and being Louie is
not a job for sissies.
COOPER NUCLEAR STATION NPPD Energy Educator Chad Johnson presented a polished and entertaining lesson about forms of energy and energy transformations. BPW employees (left photo) and CNS volunteers such as Josh Paulman (right photo) assisted Johnson with hands-on activities for the kids. Other CNS volunteers who supported our customer, in addition to Paulman, were Jay Windreich, Jerry Bulmer, Jim Florence, Nadja Joergensen, Jeff Domino, and Chris Rimel. Evelyn Chittenden, who coordinates the massive Energy Fest held in Columbus, also kept the Auburn event planning on an even keel. BPW located a stationary bike outfitted with a generator so the kids could get an idea of how difficult it could be if humans were the primary energy source. The kids pedaled to power a series of lights. They learned that it takes a lot of work to transform human muscle power into enough electricity to energize even three small lights.
