Data Center Industry Takes Its PR Pitch Into Elementary Schools

Data center trade groups are putting their pitch in front of grade-schoolers, using flag-making kits, coloring pages and a children's book to counter rising public opposition to the industry's buildout, according to a WIRED report published Oct. 18.

What is the industry sending into classrooms?

The nonprofit 7x24 Exchange International, which promotes data centers as "mission critical" infrastructure, backs a children's story called "What is a Data Center?" in which a honey badger named Honey tours a facility with a worker named Oliver, who explains that data centers keep services running "no matter what time it is." The group also created "International Data Center Day," which it describes as designed to "create awareness of the data center industry and inspire the next generation of talent," per WIRED. For high schools, the group offers a crossword puzzle and information on training programs; for elementary schools, it provides coloring pages, an evaporation-themed science project, and worksheets asking kids to "draw a picture of the cloud" or "draw a data superhero."

Where has this already reached students?

In May, the Potomac chapter of the Association for Computer Operations Management, a data-center trade group, sponsored Memorial Day-themed flag-making kits distributed to 3,100 first graders across 37 schools in Loudoun County, Virginia — an area nicknamed Data Center Alley for its concentration of facilities, WIRED reported. The kits included an informational card citing statistics on the industry's economic impact in the county.

Why is the industry doing this now?

The school outreach comes as opposition to data center construction intensifies over energy consumption and water use tied to campuses supporting cloud computing and AI, according to WIRED. The outlet frames the classroom push as one tool among several — including lobbying, job-creation programs and tax breaks — that companies and trade groups are using to build community goodwill as scrutiny grows during this year's midterm campaigns.

Have other industries used this playbook before?

Alex Molnar, a research professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and director of the National Education Policy Center, told WIRED that industries facing image problems have brought messaging into schools for more than a century, citing fast food, tobacco and oil and gas as prior examples.

"A very, very big reason why corporations get involved in the schools is, quite simply, corporate propaganda — for the purpose not necessarily of selling a product, but of telling their 'story,'" Molnar said, per WIRED.

What does the data center campaign look like in numbers?

• 3,100 first graders received Memorial Day flag-making kits sponsored by a data-center trade group in Loudoun County, Virginia, in May, according to WIRED.
• 37 schools across that county took part in the flag-kit distribution, per the same report.

WIRED's account does not include comment from 7x24 Exchange International or the Potomac AFCOM chapter responding to Molnar's characterization, and the piece does not report on whether any school district has a policy governing industry-sponsored classroom materials. The full report, including images of the coloring pages and flag kits, is available at WIRED.