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Renewable Microgrid Command

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Grades 6-860-75 minSource: Creative Dad Company

Teams manage a simulated neighborhood microgrid, deciding in real time how to split solar and battery power between homes, a hospital, and a school when demand spikes.

Budget levels

Amazon prices checked Oct 9-10, 2026 and may change

Materials links go to Amazon. Prices are estimates and may change. As an Amazon Associate, Creative Dad Company earns from qualifying purchases.

Quick Start

Digital downloads only.

$0 to buy. Printing noted separately.

Student time: one class period, one day.

Teacher prep / build-ahead: separate from student time.

Scale it

The default plan is one class period on a single day.

Scale back: Fit it into a shorter period, use fewer effects, or run a demo instead of a build.

Scale up: Add one extra effect, or spread the share-out across another day.

Ambiance video

Ambiance video coming soon from Creative Dad Studio

  • Decision matrix templatePrintinguse what you have
  • weather event cardsPrintinguse what you have

Full Experience

Required materials for the class.

$0 per class (class of about 30, 6 groups).

Student time: one day.

Teacher prep / build-ahead: separate from student time.

Scale it

The default plan is one school day.

Scale back: Fit the build into one period with fewer effects.

Scale up: Spread the work across days, or add more effects.

Total Transformation

The bigger kit, with every optional item included.

$0 per class (class of about 30, 6 groups).

Student time: one day (one session, one-day event).

Teacher prep / build-ahead: separate from student time.

Scale it

The default plan is one session, a one-day event.

Scale back: Shorten the event, or run a demo for a smaller audience.

Scale up: Spread the build and the event across days, or invite a bigger audience.

Choose your version

Every level teaches the same core idea — pick the one that fits your time, budget, and energy today.

Student time: 30 min, one class periodTeacher prep / build-ahead: 15 min$0 to buy. Printing noted separately.One table or a clear section of floorBeginner-friendly

Setup

Print or hand-copy the essential prompt for Renewable Microgrid Command, then set out only paper, pencils, and the common or recycled items needed for one test. Use a tabletop representation whenever the original version mentions a room, specialized device, or digital tool; the learning comes from the decisions and evidence, not elaborate scenery.

Activity

  1. Review the neighborhood's buildings and predict which ones need guaranteed power during an outage.
  2. Set up the microgrid board with starting solar and battery power allocated across the buildings.
  3. Draw demand-spike event cards each round, find the hospital or school runs short of power, and reallocate the grid to protect critical loads.
  4. Report the final grid performance to a town meeting, explaining the tradeoffs made under pressure.

Ambiance video

Ambiance video coming soon from Creative Dad Studio

Done when: The group has completed Renewable Microgrid Command when it can report the final grid performance to a town meeting, explaining the tradeoffs made under pressure and point to the observation, measurement, comparison, or trial that supports its conclusion.

Materials

poster board, poker chips as power units, dice for demand events, markers, timer; Decision matrix template; weather event cards

Shown for the Quick Start version — switch tabs above to see what changes.

Materials links go to Amazon. Prices are estimates and may change.

As an Amazon Associate, Creative Dad Company earns from qualifying purchases.

Steps

  1. Review the neighborhood's buildings and predict which ones need guaranteed power during an outage.
  2. Write criteria (hospital never loses power, school powered during class hours) and constraints (total budget tokens, limited land for panels, batteries only store a set amount, solar drops at night and on cloudy days).
  3. Design at least two competing mixes, such as more solar panels with fewer batteries versus fewer panels with more batteries, plus a backup generator option with an emissions cost.
  4. Run each mix through the same deck of demand-spike and weather event cards in the same order, recording power delivered to each building per round.
  5. Count blackout rounds for each building and total cost and emissions for each mix.
  6. Score all mixes in a decision matrix against the criteria and constraints using the round data.
  7. Report the winning mix to a town meeting, explaining the tradeoffs shown in the data.

Standards mapped

  • NGSS · MS-ETS1-2

    Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.