MARSEILLES -- The roar of the dam, the whir of a crane and the remains of seven large generators inside the old hydro plant in Marseilles, now owned by North American Hydro, has piqued the interest of students and faculty from Community Unit 2 School District, who have been touring the no-longer operational plant prior to its restoration to an active producer of energy.

"We wanted to get the kids in here to see the hydro plant before rehabilitation begins," said Bill Harris, president of North American Hydro, who conducted the tours. "Obviously, some of the old elements are going to change. After it is complete, it will be less practical to show them into the building."

Harris also noted that in its current state the generators and turbines within the plant are bare-bones and students can more easily see how they work. Once the renovation is complete, these features will no longer be as easily visible.

The tours are just the first step in a partnership formed by Unit 2 -- which includes Serena High School and elementary schools in Serena, Sheridan and Harding -- and North American Hydro.

"The potential for learning is enormous," said Serena Elementary School Principal Paul Schrik.

The district became interested in a partnership as part of its larger goal to promote "green" energy alternatives. The district is seeking to build a wind turbine on site to provide electricity for its four buildings.

"It's long been an objective of the district to correlate our support of renewable energy, clean energy," said Schrik. "It was important to connect directly with the community and this was nice because it is in our own backyard."

The hydro plant comes with its share of history -- built under the leadership of President William McKinley and used to provide electricity for a train system that connected several communities. Now North American Hydro plans to once again produce and sell electricity once renovations to the plant are complete.

To prepare students for the tours, Harris attended classes at the four schools to discuss the science behind the plant. While on the tour, he could show students the actual structures and emphasize again how science plays a part in producing energy by using the force of water.

Generators, he said, include magnets that when active can pull 45,000 pounds. Harris said an item pulled by these generators "could only be pulled off with a bulldozer -- maybe."

He also discussed ways the plant will be environmentally friendly, In addition to generating clean energy, the turbines turned by water will allow the fish in the river to flow through them with only a slight chance of becoming injured.

During the tour, students were particularly interested in a crane, still operational, built to transport people (in a cage) and heavy items with a hoist from one end of the plant to the other. Students were invited to go up in the cage or take a turn operating the crane and hoist while Harris explained the mechanics involved.

The crane, said Harris, was built in the days before welding was invented and instead was riveted. It was also built to be even stronger than necessary for any task at the plant.

The partnership will come at no expense to the school district, said Schrik, and Unit 2 staff are hoping to make some improvements to the property near the hydro plant to include some outdoor learning centers along the river bank.

In addition to serving the district's purpose of promoting renewable energy sources, the partnership meets a second goal of emphasizing the importance of school as part of the community. And at the same time, the lessons are reinforcing scientific principles taught in the classroom.

"We can apply what is learned in the classroom into practice," said Schrik. "It's outstanding to see these lessons become broader, more relevant. To see how science works in the real world. And it meets our goal of making the connection between the classroom and the community."