In the fall, Baltimore Gas and Electric asked local students to put their creative juices together and come up with a video to reinforce the safety message behind the utility company’s “Wires Down” campaign. BGE’s “Wires Down” television commercial, which first aired in 2000, urges customers not to touch or move downed electrical wires.
Twenty-four elementary schools from across the state submitted 30- to 45-second videos, and two in Anne Arundel County were among the winning entries. By singing and playing the “Wires Down” melody with their own voices and instruments, students at Monarch Global Academy earned the $3,000 “Golden Pipes” award. Spanish language students from South River High School helped students at Edgewater Elementary conduct their entire video in Spanish, winning the $1,000 county award.
School videos were judged on overall safety message, team effort, creativity, rendition of the “Wires Down” song, and overall impression. Ten schools from across the state earned monetary awards. More than 77,000 votes were cast during a two-week period to determine the winning videos. To see all of the video submissions visit, bgevideochallenge.com.
Since the contest launched in 2012, BGE has awarded $50,000 to elementary schools throughout central Maryland. The utility company also provides free education materials to teachers through the e-Smart Kids website. Teachers can download lesson plans, science experiments, worksheets and games to help make learning about electricity and electric safety fun for their students.