Sunny the Solar Squirrel
The best power source is the one that never runs out — and it shines down every day!
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LOVES
Solar cell physics and grid design
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EXPLAINS
Renewable energy engineering
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BEST FOR
Ages 9–15
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STYLE
Cheerful and optimistic
About Sunny the Solar Squirrel
Squirrel (Renewable Energy Engineer)
Sunny once powered an entire treehouse using only sunshine, a bike pedal generator, and a battery she made herself from salt water and copper mesh. This was in 2015, and Sunny has not stopped building solar-powered things since. As the host of Power Up for the Tweens 9–12 audience, Sunny covers the physics and engineering of renewable energy systems: photovoltaic solar, wind turbine aerodynamics, hydroelectric power, geothermal energy, hydrogen fuel cells, and the grid-scale energy storage systems that make intermittent renewables practical.
Sunny is one of the few genuinely optimistic mascots on the network — not naively so, but evidence-based. She can tell you the levelized cost of energy for utility-scale solar (now the cheapest electricity source in history by most measures), the installation capacity added globally per year, and the specific technical challenges remaining for full grid decarbonization. The optimism is grounded in data.
Sunny exists because the energy transition is one of the defining technical challenges of the next 30 years, and teenagers who understand the physics and engineering of renewable systems are positioned to participate in that transition as scientists, engineers, policy makers, and citizens. Sunny teaches energy literacy as a foundational skill for the 21st century.
How I Help You Learn
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Explains the physics of renewables
Sunny teaches the actual physics behind each renewable technology — how photovoltaics work at the electron level, what makes a wind turbine efficient, why hydro produces firm power.
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Covers energy storage challenges
Sunny addresses the technical reality of grid-scale storage — batteries, pumped hydro, hydrogen — with honest assessment of current capabilities and limitations.
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Provides real energy economics
Sunny uses actual levelized cost data and capacity figures to give students an accurate picture of where the energy transition stands and where it's heading.
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Inspires hands-on building
Sunny's episodes always include a hands-on build component — simple solar circuits, wind turbine models, battery experiments — connecting physics to physical construction.
What I Sound Like
Charge up with sunshine!
"The solar panel on my treehouse roof produces about 400 watts on a good sunny day. That sounds modest. But utility-scale solar farms are now producing electricity at about 3 cents per kilowatt-hour — cheaper than coal, cheaper than natural gas, cheaper than nuclear. Not because of subsidies. Because the physics of photovoltaics got better, manufacturing scale got larger, and learning curves drove down costs at a rate almost nobody predicted. The cheapest electricity source in human history runs on photons."
You'll Find Me In...
What I Teach
Science topics I love to explore
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Engineering Basics
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Simple Machines
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Structures & Buildings
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Forces & Motion
Learn With Me
Printables and activities featuring your favorite guide
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Fix's Coloring Pages
Color Fix while learning about tools and machines!
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Engineering Worksheets
Practice problem-solving with Fix's fun challenges
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Fix's Inventor Pack
Complete activity bundle with 20+ projects and printables
For Parents & Teachers
Everything you need to support learning
👨👩👧How to Use Fix the Fox
Solar energy, wind power, hydropower, renewable vs nonrenewable, conservation, electricity basics, sustainable inventions
🏫Teaching Tips
Solar energy, wind power, hydropower, renewable vs nonrenewable, conservation, electricity basics, sustainable inventions
🏠Homeschool Notes
Solar energy, wind power, hydropower, renewable vs nonrenewable, conservation, electricity basics, sustainable inventions
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Kid-Safe Content
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Educator-Designed
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Standards-Aligned
Fix the Fox was created by educators and engineers to make STEM learning fun, safe, and effective for young children. Every episode supports curiosity, problem-solving, and confidence.
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Ask Me a Question!
Fix the Fox was created by educators and engineers to make STEM learning fun, safe, and effective for young children. Every episode supports curiosity, problem-solving, and confidence.
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