One Petal of the Living Building Challenge is Equity, and included within Equity is accessibility – or rather the ability for all to engage with and enjoy the building regardless of whether they are a student of, or visitor to Georgia Tech.
Georgia Tech's Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC), in keeping with the Equity Petal accessibility requirement, creates content about The Kendeda Building for K-12 students across the state of Georgia. These lesson plans and materials are free of charge to any teacher and accessible through the internet. Additionally, the building's YouTube channel and 3D virtual tour allow for anyone to “visit” the building from afar. These one-week long science lesson plans directly connect grade level curriculum to The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design.
5th Grade
Are you Plugged In? Electricity in the Living Building.
The lesson is designed for exploration of the Living Building Challenge's Energy Petal. It studies circuits. Students will see how they can use a battery or solar panel in a simple circuit. This will help them understand how to make our energy use more sustainable.
6th Grade
Water: Slow the Flow (Stormwater)
The lesson is designed for a middle school exploration of the Living Building Challenge's Water Petal. It studies how The Kendeda
Building's design manages stormwater by emulating the Piedmont Forest ecosystem, which is the ecosystem of the metro Atlanta region.
7th Grade
Bio-Inspired Design: Animals in Action
This curriculum connects the State of Georgia’s teaching standards directly with biologically-inspired elements of the Living Building Challenge to help guide students’ understanding of how nature and science can help solve the many challenges of achieving Living Building Challenge certification.
8th Grade
Sustainably Solar
The lesson is designed for a middle school exploration of the Living Building Challenge's Energy Petal. Students will explore physical science topics of energy and energy transformations through online simulations and exercises. They will investigate renewable and nonrenewable energy sources and will connect these sources to sustainable practices in the Living Building. Students will then collaborate to create a mini-Living Building powered by solar energy to highlight the above petals.