The Clyde Dam, owned and operated by Contact, is the focus of the programme and about 30 teachers from 13 schools in Central Otago, Wanaka and Queenstown who will use the educational resource toured the dam yesterday.
Contact head of hydro generation Boyd Brindson said the goal was to give pupils a fun and comprehensive understanding of the dam.
''These children have grown up with this dam in their back yards. Many drive past it every day, their families have stories and connections to it and they know people who work in our team here, '' he said.
The programme, developed with education consultancy group School Kit, is called Behind the Plug and will be delivered over two terms.
''While a lot of Behind the Plug is about us helping local children understand the mechanics and physics of the dam, there's a very strong focus on the wider social, cultural, environmental and economic impacts, including the history behind the construction of the dam, '' Mr Brindson said.
The programme arose from a meeting between Contact, its stakeholders and Central Otago business organisations last year to get their views on water use in the region as part of an ecosystem services review.
''... One of the insights from the process was that locals wanted to see more educational opportunities offered around the dam,'' Mr Brindson said.
School Kit spokeswoman Emma Bettle said there had been an ''enthusiastic response'' by schools to the offer of taking part in the pilot programme.
The activities would engage children in a fun way and distil the wealth of information about the Clyde dam, she said.
''And as well as being a really edgy science and social resource, it relates back to the community these children live in. That's rare and really valuable in an education setting.''
A similar resource had been developed around Contact's geothermal generation at the Te Mihi power station in Taupo, Mr Brindson said.
He hoped both programmes could be rolled out to schools nationwide in the future.
