The U.S. Departments of Energy and Education and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) embark on an quest to educate America's young people about energy efficiency and using energy responsibly.

To be run by the NSTA, America's Home Energy Education Challenge aims to harness the creativity and zeal of students to inspire families to save energy at home. School teams from grades 3-8 will implement and monitor energy efficiency activities at home over a three month period. Schools will compete against each other, culminating in a national competition.

A second activity of the Challenge is the Energy Fitness Award aimed at helping students better understand basic energy issues such as the connection between energy use and energy bills. Online activities will improve students' knowledge of energy use, energy-saving techniques and various energy calculations to enable them to identify opportunities and develop a plan for saving energy.

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu said ''Energy efficiency is all about helping families save money by saving energy. America's Home Energy Education Challenge leverages the passion and curiosity of students to encourage families across the country to reduce energy waste in their homes while inspiring the next generation of America's energy leaders.''

U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan noted, ''We all need to pitch in to make our homes and schools more energy efficient. America's Home Energy Education Challenge will teach students how science and common sense efforts can help all of us to do our part to save energy and save money as well as protect the environment,'' said Secretary Duncan.

Dr. Francis Eberle, Executive Director of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) said, ''Science teachers nationwide will recognize that America's Home Energy Education Challenge is a valuable teaching tool that encourages active learning about energy and science and will help students to connect science to real world applications.''

To join America's Home Energy Education Challenge or to learn more about it, visit HomeEnergyChallenge.org.