Renewable Energy

This week, during STEAM fortnight, Year 6’s learning has been centred around renewable energy. They have investigated how renewable energy can be used to power a home that makes us happy and healthy and is also good for the planet.

The children have been busily designing houses with solar panels, hydroelectric power and wind power. They have been incorporating this in interesting and unusual ways in order to come up with unique homes. Roof gardens, swimming pools and zip lines are just a few of the added features that would definitely make us all happy! Their imaginations have really run wild, with houses using tidal power that floats on the sea and even houses shaped like ducks!

The children are creating front and back elevations and floor plans before they start to actually build models of their homes - channelling their inner architects. They will be using junk materials, such as cardboard boxes and empty packets, when they begin crafting and building their models.

Hydropower and wind power have been a focus in Science. Having gone on a virtual tour of Scotland's Hydropower, the children have started designing their own system to harness the energy of water and convert it into electricity. Making small prototypes of both wind and hydro systems, they are learning how the shape, size, angle and number of blades can play a part in the amount of power that is produced - plenty of things to consider when designing a home for the future!

Next week, they will be finalising their designs and creating a circuit attached to an ammeter to show how much electricity they have produced. Year 6 have really been getting their STEAM learning on!