EPA CLEAN SCHOOL BUS Tomorrow's Buses for Today's Children Electric School Bus Activity Book ~ epa.gov/cleanschoolbus <>EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality EPA-420-B-24-030 May 2024 ------- EPA CLEAN SCHOOL BUS The Clean School Bus Electric School Bus Activity Book was developed and written by: Stacie Bickley, Ph.D., Office ofTransportation and Air Quality Clayton Batko, Office ofTransportation and Air Quality The assistance and expertise of EPA scientists and educators in the review of the text is acknowledged with thanks. To view and download these activities, please visit: epa.aov/cleanschoolbus 1 ------- Tomorrow's Buses for Today's Children Welcome to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean School Bus Program!This is an exciting time for our country's thousands of school buses. Our bus fleets are transitioning from traditional, older diesel buses that emit pollution to new, clean, low-emission and zero-emission models. School buses have always been the safest way to get children to and from school.The Clean School Bus Program is making these buses even safer by reducing and even eliminating the amount of exhaust released into the air. Protecting the health of our children and communities is the top priority of the EPA. Cleaner school buses lead to cleaner air, which keeps all of us healthier. Join us in exploring the difference between older, diesel buses and new, cleaner buses.This activity book focuses on electric school buses. Future activity books will cover other alternative fuels.You will learn more about the health and environmental benefits of electric school buses and their role in addressing climate change and environmental justice. One day, you too may see or even ride an electric school bus within your community! To learn more about how your school district can participate in this program, visit https://www.eDa.aov/cleanschoolbus. . . ^ m w A oEPA epa.gov/cleanschoolbus • fflBs EPA CLEAN SCHOOL BUS Clean School Bus Vocabulary Asthma: A health condition of the lungs that makes it hard to breathe. Atmosphere:The layer of gas that surrounds the Earth and provides the air that we breathe. Community: A group of people living, playing, or working together in the same area. Electrical/power grid:The system that provides the electricity that we use in our homes, schools, and other buildings. Exhaust: Leftover material that comes out of the tailpipe of a vehicle when an engine burns fuel. Fossil fuels: A source of energy found deep in the ground that is used to power vehicles, like buses. Diesel fuel and gasoline are types of fossil fuels. Greenhouse gases: Gases in the Earth's atmosphere that trap heat. They act like a blanket to keep our Earth warm and livable.Too many of these gases, however, can cause the Earth to warm up more and faster than it should. Health: A person's physical, mental, and social well-being. Pollutant: Any substance that causes health problems for people and nature. Vehicle: A structure that uses a motor or engine to move people or things from one location to another location. School buses, cars, and even boats are all types of vehicles. Technology: A collection of tools, including machines, developed to achieve a goal or solve a problem. 3 ------- EPA CLEAN r* ^ ( W SCHOOL BUS Clean School Buses Are the Future of Student Transportation More than 25 million American children ride on a school bus every day. School buses travel over 4 billion miles each year Traditional school buses run on fossil fuels.The exhaust from these buses is harmful to the environment. oEPA epa.gov/cleanschoolbus ------- School Bus Instructions: Locate and color the charger, charge port, battery, and motor. Electric school buses look the same as regular school buses. They use batteries to store energy rather than getting energy from fuels like diesel and gasoline. They also don't have tailpipes, so they don't release pollution! Equipment that provides power to an electric vehicle. Connects an electric bus to a power source to recharge the battery. A device that stores energy that can power an electric motor. Uses power from a battery to move the wheels. oEPA epa.gov/cleanschoolbus EPA CLEAN / SCHOOL BUS Meet the Electric ------- A Day in the Life of an Electric School Bus Instructions: Trace the route of the electric school bus. Step 1: Pick up all the students. Step 2:Take the students to their school. Step 3: Return the electric school bus to the bus depot to charge W c EPA CLEAN SCHOOL BUS There are nearly 500,000 school buses in the United States. Imagine the environmental and health benefits if most of them were zero-emission buses, like an electric bus! oEPA The average electric school bus can travel V 100 miles or more when fully charged. epa.gov/cleanschoolbus ------- Cruising for Words Instructions: Find the hidden words and draw a circle around them. AIR • -A- Jl ' • CLEAN Ife ASTHMA PLANET I BATTERY OOo COMMUNITY <3 ffiV fl OD BUS MOTOR HEALTH SCHOOL CHARGER ELECTRIC r\Tr. CT_ POLLUTION t=D=i TECHNOLOGY III r-iU 10 v>EPA epa.gov/cleanschoolbus W c EPA CLEAN SCHOOL BUS R S C H 0 0 L K Y G 0 F P U V 0 H X W D T D H T C 0 E E M 0 T 0 R A E E N Y L W T M M R C C A T A B E L V H U G H N L C S A C B U S C N N B T H T K T J H T 0 G I A H A H P R V E L I R L T C R M A I R 0 M E 0 P T Y G A H C G T P L A N E T E K V Y C L E A N T R Y R M H P A I F S K D Y C L Did you know that an electric school bus can be used to store energy?They can return energy to the electrical grid or a building, or even provide power during an emergency. • S • 11 ------- Clean Bus, Good Health, Happy Planet EPA CLEAN SCHOOL BUS Air is essential to life on our planet. We breathe in air through our nose and mouth Electric school buses keep the air that students, drivers, and community members breathe clean. These buses also reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a major cause of climate change. ------- Moving Toward a Cleaner Planet Instructions: Find eight differences between the two images below. 14 otrM epa.gov/cleanschoolbus EPA CLEAN H SCHOOL BUS This electric bus is so quiet! I can speak with my friends using my indoor voice. I don't have to cover my ears because of the loud noises. 'S38JJ pue 'SJB0 Buusaoo euo ou '6uii|6noo euo ou 'u;q Bu||oAosj 'seoinj. ou '9d;d||B} ou 'je>pjis snq aupeje 'snq uo yod eBjeip :sbl) eBeun uiouog :sjsmsuv 15 ------- Keeping the Wheel Turning Instructions: Solve the brain teasers below. I am yellow, transport children, and use batteries. What am I? 2. I have a lot of energy, but I do not move. I transfer my energy to buses and cars using a cord. What am I? I transfer air from our atmosphere to the body and you use me to breathe. What am I? You cannot see me. I keep our planet warm, which is essential for life.Too much of me, however, causes our climate to change. What am I? The motor of a new school bus runs on batteries. How many pollutants are released when the bus is running? 0* - ~ 16 oEPA epa.gov/cleanschoolbus Did you know that kids breathe faster than adults?That means they take in more air. EPA CLEAN VP SCHOOL BUS A bus driver starts her morning pickup route in the country, where she makes five stops. Four students get on at each stop. On the way into town, she makes another six stops, picking up seven students at each stop.The bus driver does her final pickup near the elementary school. If 75 elementary students get off her bus, how many students got on her bus during the final pickup? An electric school bus battery takes eight hours to fully charge. If the battery is charged halfway, how many hours does it need to charge all the way? If one electric school bus can travel 100 miles when it is fully charged, how many 30-mile routes can it complete? A third grader takes about 20 breaths in a minute. A teacher takes about 14 breaths in a minute. How many more breaths does a third grader take an hour in comparison to the teacher? 10. The distance around the Earth at the equator (its circumference) is 24,901 miles. School buses travel more than 4 billion (4,000,000,000) miles each year. How many trips around the Earth's equator do buses take each year? 909'O9l (01 pue '090 (6 '33JM1(8 'Jnod (Z. '01 (9 'ojsz (9 'se6 ssnoqussjs (p '6un"| (0 'uojieis BujBjeqQ (z 'snq |ooips oupsig ([, :sj0Msuy 17 ------- Tickle Me Green Fill in the Blank Instructions: Choose your own words to complete the story below. Be as silly and creative as you would like. Jayden's New School Bus Jayden is ready to start his school day. Before heading to the bus stop, he double checks to make sure his homework is in his backpack. At the bus (school subject) (color/pattern) stop, Jayden says hi to his four friends. Jayden and his friends see the bus coming around the corner. " " says (expression of excitement) , "I have never seen a bus before." (name of friend 1) (color) "Neither have I!" says Jayden. "This must be our new electric bus." " " says the bus driver. "Welcome aboard our new (greeting) electric school bus! Do you know what makes an electric bus different from a diesel bus?" asks the bus driver. Everyone shakes their heads no. "This bus is different because it uses batteries rather than diesel or gasoline," says the bus driver. "Rather than stopping at for fuel, we recharge our bus at a charging (name of gas station) station." "Does that mean it's faster than a regular bus?" asks \ oEPA 18 WLI/A epa.gov/cleanschoolbus W c EPA CLEAN SCHOOL BUS (name of friend 2) much quieter." "No," says the bus driver. "It's not faster, but it is "Is it true that some school buses can power a(n) ? (electronic device) asks Jayden.The bus driver smiles and says, "You are correct that some electric school buses can store energy.That energy can be returned to the power grid or a building, or even provide power during an emergency." "The most important benefit of an electric school bus is that it is much better for our planet because it does not emit pollution," says the bus driver. "Does pollution cause ?" asks (illness) . "Pollution can irritate our lungs, which can make (name of friend 3) us cough or lead to conditions such as asthma," explains the driver. "My grandpa sounds like a/an when he coughs!" says (animal) Jayden. "Clean technology helps everyone breathe clean air," says the bus driver. "This bus is so !" says (expression of excitement) (name of friend 4) 19 ------- Charging Your Knowledge Instructions: Read the following statements. Cross out the statements that are FALSE and make them true. An electric school bus is faster than a diesel school bus. Electric school buses make less noise than diesel school buses. Electric school buses are more expensive to maintain than diesel and gasoline school buses. Electric school buses can power your community in an emergency. Atypical school bus can transport up to 80 students. One bus carrying all of these kids is better for the environment than everyone having their parents drive them to school every day. An electric school bus can't complete a 60-mile route when fully charged. EPA CLEAN VP SCHOOL BUS Old diesel buses release pollutants that can make us sick. Kids breathe in more pollutants because they have a faster breathing rate than adults. Electric school buses improve local air quality. 10. The EPA's Clean School Bus Program provides funding to replace existing school buses with low-emission and zero- emission models. f Our school district is excited and proud to use clean school bus technology. V '01 '6 '8 'L '9 'P 'Z = snJ]_'9 '£'1= 3S|B-| :sAomsuyj 21 ------- Zero-Emission Field Trip Instructions: Use the space provided to draw where you want to go for a field trip on your electric, zero-emission school bus! oEPA 22 \/trM epa.gov/cleanschoolbus ------- Zero-Emission Field Trip Instructions: Use the space provided to write a story about your drawing of where you want to go for a field trip on your electric, zero-emission school bus! ------- Earth Hero Pledge Instructions: Write and/or draw three things you pledge to do every day to create a healthy environment as an Earth Hero! ------- EPA CLEAN SCHOOL BUS Tomorrow's Buses for Today's Children Visit epa.gov/cleanschoolbus to learn more. i5 B Scan this QR code to access a printable copy of this activity book along with teacher and parent guides. ------- |