Speaker Resources
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) encourages its members to educate students and civic organizations about energy by giving presentations. Energy is the challenging issue of our time, and SPE believes personal contact is an effective way to provide the facts. SPE’s global Energy4me program offers educational resources to students, teachers and the public through energy4me.org and speaker programs.
Get involved!
See the many ways your SPE section can be involved in energy education!
- Give presentations
- Donate books
- Offer
scholarships/grants
- Other ways to get involved
- Engineers Week
SPE Members get 10% off at Lands' End
Have the SPE or Energy4me logo added to your items, or simply purchase undecorated items. There is no minimum order. You can shop online at ces.landsend.com/SPE, or call 800-419-1097 in the US. Outside the US, choose your items online and then call +1-608-935-8397 or email nationalsales2@landsend.com. Be sure to mention Society of Petroleum Engineers.
SPE Book Donation Program
Energy4me will donate a complimentary “Oil and Natural Gas” book to the school or student organization library on behalf of the SPE member who makes an energy-related presentation. See details below
SPE education outreach in the news
SPE Gulf Coast To Hold Two Summer Teacher Workshops
For the third year, SPE’s Gulf Coast Section is sponsoring two week-long summer teacher training workshops for 60 teachers called ‘Exploring Earth Science: A Summer Institute’. Read more.
SPE Alaska Funds Oil and Natural Gas Books for AMEREF
SPE Alaska Petroleum provided funding for "Oil and Natural Gas" books to be given to Alaskan teachers through the Alaska Mineral and Energy Resource Education Fund (AMEREF).
SPE Stavanger Donates Books and Kits
60 "Oil and Natural Gas" books and two Energy4me Kits were donated to the University of Stavanger, 30 books and kits for both the international school of Stavanger and the British school of Stavanger were also provided. Read more.
Give a classroom or career fair presentation
Classroom Presentation Quick Tips
- Know your audience. (Ask the teacher about what the students have studied before you prepare your presentation.)
- Use analogies that kids can relate to (i.e. 42 milk jugs (gallons) are in a barrel of oil)
- Speak in terms that kids will understand. (Don't use too many technical terms).
- Keep it interactive. (Don't lecture.) Give opportunities for questions and answers.
- Have fun!
Ready-to-go Presentations
The presentations below were developed by and for SPE members. Use them in your classroom activities or just to learn more!
Energy—Making Our Lives Easier (elementary)
Oil/Gas/Energy—Myths and Reality (educators/adults)
Petroleum Engineers Make a World of Difference (middle school/high school)
$100 Oil: Hard Truths - Reasoned Response (educators/adults)
Energy4me Kit
Energize your classroom presentations with tools and classroom activities!
Use the Energy4me Kit for your SPE section educational outreach program, or for your personal use.
The kit offers teaching aids, speaker resources, sample presentations, classroom activities and hands-on experiments for teaching energy in the classroom in a fun, exciting way. Activities for every grade level and petroleum engineer career information is included.
View kit contents. Order your kit today!
Speakers Guide
A quick-reference guide to giving a classroom or career fair presentation
Includes a prep sheet, tip sheet, ideas for creating your own sample kit, a sample speaking agenda, and an evaluation form for teachers to fill out after the presentation. Download a copy of the guide.
Speakers are often asked career questions by students.You can use this list to prepare for your presentation.
Have the teacher of leader send a completed speaker evaluation form to energyed@energy4me.org or fax to +1.866.719.8241 (US only) or +1.972.739.6192 (Non-US).
Sample Classroom Activity
Following are two variations of a core sampling exercise that makes a impact in the classroom.
Cupcake Core Sampling -
Trying to "see" what is beneath the surface of the Earth is one of the jobs of a geologist. In this activity, students model core sampling techniques to find out what sort of layers are in a cupcake. (Adapted from Women in Mining Education Foundation Activities)
Let's Drill for Oil and Gas - Add mini-M&M's to your cupcake core samples, and students can "drill for oil". The experiment follows two short stories in the exercise. (Provided by the NEED project).
Career Brochure
A resource for high school students on petroleum engineering careers
Includes the Top 10 Reasons to Become a Petroleum Engineer. Orders of 100 brochures or fewer are free! Complete the special request form and email it to EnergyEd@Energy4me.org or fax to +1.866.719.8241 (US only) or
+1.972.739.6192 (Non-US) to order.
“Oil and Natural Gas” Book
SPE’s fun, colorfully illustrated, and information-filled story of petroleum and natural gas, and how it shapes our world.This hardbound book is appealing to kids of all ages and adults! Learn more.
Donate the book to schools
Purchase the book |
