Energy Education Camps

“I started looking forward to this workshop the day I was accepted. The closer it was to time for it the more I worried I was expecting too much. It has been everything and more than I expected. It has been relevant to the studies of fifth graders. It has been fast-paced and engaging. It has expanded on several activities I have used in my classroom for years. The hotel was a perfect location. The staff was friendly and helpful. The workshop staff was organized and worked great together. Students would love the challenges. Not having to find and order so many of the tools needed for the activities was wonderful. I will recommend this workshop to all science teachers in my system. It was an amazing 2.5 days. Nothing negative! Nothing I would change.” Barbie Orr- Hillcrest Elementary

” Thank you so much for such a fun-filled educational energy camp! I am the after-school director at my elementary school, not a science teacher. I found the basics of energy being taught very helpful. I have a much greater understanding of how energy works and how to work with energy. The hands-on activities presented were very helpful, educational, and motivational resources that will be shared with my after-school students. We are blessed to have this presentation, hotel, food, and supplies provided to us at no charge. I cannot wait to use what I learned with my students” Jeanne Foster - Lake Road Elementary School

“I attended the energy education camp at Paris Landing State Park on July 14-16, 2026. The program was very organized and the presenters were very knowledgeable on the topics. The activities were so much fun and very relatable to the classroom I found several things I plan to use in school this next year. I appreciate the plans being placed in a notebook as well as the slides being sent to us for later review. We were able to use several kits that are available for purchase which is very helpful to not waste money on useless things. I would recommend this workshop to other educators.” Jenifer Wilder - Obion County Middle School

“I am writing to express my support for & appreciation of this educator professional development program.  First, the curriculum integrates many strands of science and reflects the TN standards spiral across grade and differentiation levels. Additionally, the materials are both accessible for classroom budgets and impactful, holding learner interest and increasing engagement/retention.  Next, providing options for location dates and covering meal/lodging expense is/are welcomed and appreciated. Financial consideration enables all who want to attend.  Finally, the expertise, professionalism and dedication of the instructors solidified the experience for me. They left me motivated, energized and ready to share my learning with fellow teachers and my students.”  Lorrie Graves - Moore Elementary School

“Everything about this experience was wonderful – the content of the sessions, the lodging and accommodations, the food and the materials we left with. It was overall an outstanding professional development experience (and believe me, that is not always the case with professional development). The agenda was thoughtfully organized, with each session flowing smoothly into the next. From hands-on wind energy kits to circuits & the ultimate cool house competition. The presenters were clear, knowledgeable and passionate educators. I especially appreciate how much hands-on material was provided – I’m leaving with activities I can put directly into practice. Overall a fantastic, well run experience with real classroom value. I will highly recommend it to fellow teachers and other educators. I am presenting at the Tennessee Gifted Association meeting in the fall and will highly recommend it there. Thank you for all of the hard work and time you all put into this experience!” Michele Stuber” – Southwest Elementary

“I thoroughly enjoyed my recent experience at the K-12 Energy Education Camp and Workshop. The location I attended was at Paris Landing State Park and the accommodations were fabulous. The surroundings really augmented the training. The activities we participated in really enhanced my understanding of the energy topics in science. I will definitely utilize them in my classroom which will only increase my success rate at teaching fifth and sixth grade Tennessee Science Standards (mostly sixth grate but some fifth). I really value all of the materials I am able to take back to my classroom. To sum up, this experience was well worth my time and effort and I would DEFINITELY recommend this to other teachers and attend it again.” Stacey Weatherspoon - Calhoun Elementary School

“I had the opportunity to attend one of the energy education camps this summer. One of the highlights was collaborating with fellow educators from across Tennessee. It was nice to share ideas, learn from one another, and build connections. The camp offered a wide variety of hands-on activities that were both educational and enjoyable. The experience allowed for team collaborations, creativity and real-world connections. I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in the camp.” Alice Smith - Taylor Elementary  

“The 2026 Tennessee Office of Energy Programs Energy Education Camp was OUTSTANDING! As a school physics and math teacher, the practical classroom resources are a highlight of the camp. The days are well-organized and productive. There was an optimal mixture of didactic instruction, group work, and individual “hands-on” learning. This is a wonderful program for equipping STEM teachers to return to the classroom with specific classroom activities to implement beginning day 1.”  Dwayne Cook - Marshall County High School

“The 2026 Energy Camp at Montgomery Bell State Park has been an inspiring three-day camp. I am a second-year math and science teacher for 4th and 5th grade. This camp has given me the opportunity to deepen my knowledge and understanding of energy and its many different aspects. It has also given me the opportunity to hands-on-learn how to use the materials provided. This camp has opened my eyes to many different activities that I can use within my classroom this upcoming year. I feel prepared to use these tools in my classroom because the staff have helped me learn and use each of them throughout this camp. I am thankful that I was chosen to be a part of the 2026 Energy Camp. It has deepened my own understanding of Energy as a whole, as well as shown and given me a variety of materials to be able to teach it hands-on.” Karlie Davis - Holladay School

“Energy Camp June 2026 at Montgomery Bell State Park was AMAZING!!! I learned a lot about energy and awesome energy experiments that I can share with my classes!!! They are going to love these experiments too!!! Thank you for having this for us and everything about the camp was the BEST!!!” Mary Presson - Westhills Elementary

“The experience broadened my knowledge of the energy sector and will help me share energy-related concepts more effectively with my students and colleagues.” Susan Wakhaya - Fredrick Douglass High School

“Thank you so much for the awesome experience. The team was very knowledgeable, creative, and compassionate. The activities were engaging and will be great to take back to the classroom. The resources provided will be very beneficial for my planning for the upcoming school year. Being at the state parks were so great as well.”  Whitney Hogg-Rose Hill School

“I have just finished participating in the 2026 Energy Education Camp for K-12 Educators located at Fall Creek Falls State Park. I have been to a lot of Professional Development in my 26 years of teaching, and this one is truly one of the best I have attended so far. The program that was presented was very well structured, presented, and paced. While it did not seem like we were in a rush or on a schedule, everything was well planned and executed with the thoughtfulness of experience and attention to usefulness in the classroom. Activities were set at about a middle school level for the most part and they are easily adaptable up or down depending on the grade level we are teaching. I am rolling around several ideas of the activities we did in our sessions to give a trial run in my classes this upcoming year. I think one of the best aspects of this camp was the way they gave us a “kitchen science” way to do activities that would be budget friendly and also gave us experience with the equipment and materials that are more upscale when we are able to buy those better kits and materials in the future. I will definitely spread the word about this opportunity to other educators, and I truly will always advocate for this program to keep going and reach as many educators in our state as possible. I have no constructive criticism at all and feel that the program is awesome as it stands. Thank you very much for this excellent and productive experience. I am so excited to implement what I have learned this year and to get started as soon as I am able!” Mark Schlipp - Jo Byrn High School

“I think that this energy camp was extremely well organized and beneficial for teachers. I gained lots of knowledge and ideas for activities and projects that can be implemented in my classroom. It was relevant to my 6th grade science standards. The materials provided were extremely high quality and aligned well. I enjoyed our stay at Fall Creek Falls Lodge. The food was excellent and all facilities were well maintained and clean. I was very impressed and enjoyed my time and think this was the best professional development opportunity I have attended.” Christina Edmonds - Midway Middle School

“I thoroughly enjoyed attending Energy Camp. I have learned so much about different ways to present material to my students in order to keep them engaged and help them learn the material. I loved being able to talk with other teachers about how they teach and how they presented the material to their students. I would love to see this program continue and tell my colleagues about it so that they can attend in the future.” Emily Dean - Greeneville Middle School

“I attended this professional development opportunity, and I have to say this was the best engaging, most interesting professional development experience that I have ever attended! I plan to tell all of my colleagues about it and encourage them to attend. The content was engaging and relevant. I cannot say enough positive things about this week. I wish there were more topics because I would love to attend more of these.” Tara Mordell, Sarah Moore Greene Magnet

“I will have to say this is one of the most amazing workshops I have ever attended in my 19 years of teaching. The facility was just beautiful. The rooms were immaculate, spacey and overlooked the lake. The conference area was quaint and cozy. Now…. the content. The content was out of this world. The ladies were on point with every topic in their presentations. The same great video resources and content. The take-home materials were phenomenal and will be a much-needed addition to my classroom.” Tiffanie Wright - Cookeville High School

“As a participant of the Energy camp at Fall Creek Falls State Park, I was greatly impressed with the presenter’s knowledge and enthusiasm for sharing. The activities were engaging and can be used in the classroom immediately. The amount of resources given to participants is beneficial to classroom teachers & students. The accommodations and food were wonderful. I also enjoyed that the group was a mixture of educators from across the state and content areas.” Tracy Smith – North Elementary