There is a huge amount of debate around energy in the UK. We see it on the news regularly (especially with current world events) and there are strong opinions to do THIS or THAT depending on who you listen to and what their affiliations are. As an educator I like to think that we try to be as objective as possible and give children an informed understanding of the debate; at least the debate can then be underpinned by an understanding of multiple viewpoints.
So thank you Geopura!
Yes they are a company firmly focussed on renewable and clean energy, but they worked with Spark to develop a classroom based programme that helps children understand how energy is currently created (physicists don’t shoot me, you know what I mean in this context!) and the issues around that. They’ve also sponsored some schools to have access to our complete resources and are already making a huge impact. One of the schools has even used them with parents who were blown away with the local opportunities they didn’t know about.
Try asking a child (actually, an adult?) where the energy comes from when you turn the light on. The session focusses on this question and the issues around moving from ‘traditional’ energy production to renewable energy; all sides of the debate.
A large part of the session involves a hands-on activity planning the best location for a wind farm. Cost, environmental concerns, human impact all had to be considered as part of the process, bringing all points of view into focus – regardless of the form of energy production.
Inevitably we ended the session with a view of how we can use Hydrogen as a future fuel alternative….if the future means now! The children were treated to ‘behind the scenes’ footage of Geopura’s Hydrogen cell factory that is pretty much on their doorstep and already supplying projects with clean energy in a range of situations.
Ever wondered how they get the lights and cameras to work on Springwatch in the middle of nowhere…..?
Worth a look at what they are up to: www.geopura.com
Pics from one of the schools below:
