Maui Firm Develops First Clean Energy Ed App for iPad

Screenshot, Clean Energy Hawaii STEM app, developed by maui-based NSC Partners. Photo courtesy of NSC Partners.

By Sonia Isotov

Sponsored by the Women in Technology division of the Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB), the Maui-based app developer NSC Partners, has designed the first clean energy educational app on iPad.

The app will be available to download free from iTunes on Earth Day, Friday, April 22 and will also be demonstrated at the Hawaii Clean Energy Day event at the State Capitol on Wednesday, April 20, 9 a.m.to 2 p.m.

“Our Clean Energy Hawaii STEM app is the only one of its kind listed in the Education and Games section of Apple iTunes,” said Leslie Wilkins, program director of MEDB’s Women in Technology division. “One of our goals is to engage students in science, technology, and math and what better way than through the most exciting media available, the iPad. We used the islands as a base to provide energy information and activities because the State has set a goal of 70% clean energy by 2030.”

“These initiatives will help get our young people ready for the clean energy jobs we want to see in Hawaii now and in the future,” said Estrella Seese, State energy administrator.

The Clean Energy Hawaii STEM app opens with a fully touchable view of all the islands across Hawaii and allows students to see what types of clean energy — biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar, wind — are available on each island.

Students can virtually build a clean energy project such as a wind turbine, with or without battery storage, and experiment on what it takes to put renewable energy to practical use.

Screenshot #2, Clean Energy Hawaii STEM app, developed by maui-based NSC Partners. Photo courtesy of NSC Partners.

The Clean Energy Hawaii STEM app complements MEDB’s Island Energy Inquiry (IEI) program, an energy science curriculum aligned with Department of Education STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) standards for grades 5 through 12.  More than 100 teachers statewide have attended workshops on the curriculum.

The Island Energy Inquiry program and Clean Energy Hawaii STEM app are sponsored by MEDB’s Women in Technology and funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education.

NSC Partners LLC is a privately held company located in Maui, Hawaii that innovates by developing mobile, web, and database software applications for education, healthcare, business, and sports.