For the teacher demo during the Introduction/Motivation section:

• mini solar PV panel
• piece of foam core board, on which to tape the solar panel
• 2 small alligator clamps
• a single light, such as a small Christmas tree light or any individual bulb from a hobby/craft/electronics store that can be hooked up in the circuit
• (optional) a voltmeter

Each group needs:

• graph paper and pencils
• measuring ruler
• ¼-inch-thick foam core board, pre-cut into sets of wall and roof pieces that form variously-sized structures (different for each team), such as long skinny rectangular buildings, short squat rectangular buildings, tall skinny skyscraper buildings, big spacious warehouse buildings, little house-sized buildings, etc.; alternatively, for more advanced students, have them design and draw first, then cut out their own wall and roof pieces
• cardboard, for plots of land; suggested size: ~24 x 24 in (~61 x 61 cm), however, size will vary depending on the size and shape of the building; cut from discarded cardboard boxes
• acrylic paint and paint brushes, for painting foam core buildings and cardboard plot of land
• mini solar PV panel; available online
• duct tape
• scissors
• 2 small alligator clamps
• light, small motor or buzzer, available at amazon, and at hobby or electronics stores such as Radio Shack; NOTE: be sure to purchase lights/motors/buzzers that are compatible with your solar panel; if your solar panels can output 3V, then the lights/motors/buzzers should be in the 1.5-3V range; if the solar panel outputs too much power, just cover some of the panel to decrease the power output, otherwise you may burn up the lights/motors/buzzers; however, if the solar panel cannot output the current required to power the lights/motors/buzzers then they will not work
• Solar City Persuasive Letter Worksheet, one per student

For the entire class to share:

• newspaper, to protect table and desk tops from gluing and cutting
• Xacto^TM knife (and blades) or utility knife or razor blade, for the teacher to use to cut foam core board
• (optional) Foam Core Tips Handout
• hot glue gun and glue sticks (model construction can take a lot of hot glue!)

Note: In this open-ended activity, as students begin to build, they may think of other materials they need, such as craft sticks, thin plastic sheets (or plastic beverage bottles), pebbles, Astroturf, etc.