Submitted by Administrator on Mon, 29/07/2019 - 09:59
The Primary School Energy Mapping Challenge enables children of 9-12 years old to become researchers and experience for themselves the importance and potential of renewable energy, through scientific measurements made in their own playground.
Schools across the UK will participate in an active public engagement program which is designed to introduce children to simple scientific procedures, such as data collection and analysis, whilst exposing them to the country’s two largest carbon-free energy sources: wind and solar.
Students will work in pairs to measure the solar flux and wind speed in their school playground using lux meters and anemometers. Together, the students will record their data on the user-friendly website prepared by our research team, with which they will track their measurements over time, allowing them to monitor daily and seasonal variations. The website also allows each class to compare their results with the other participating schools throughout the UK. As well as enhancing collaboration and communication between schools, this activity will introduce students to geographical variations in weather patterns and allow them to critically evaluate which renewable energy source is best suited to their locality.
Click here to view the data collected during our pilot run, with Wyton-on-the-hill Primary School in Cambridgeshire: https://energymap.oe.phy.cam.ac.uk/
The full project will commence in autumn 2019, with at least 1 school from each nation of the UK. Click here to find out more about the project background: https://energymap.oe.phy.cam.ac.uk/info
