What a wonderful morning with the Year 4 children from Whale Hill Primary School on our next installment of ‘Energy Academy’ funded by Redcar and Cleveland College.

These enthusiastic and super-focused Year 4 children learned all about renewable energy and the important role it plays in Teesside. They also looked at future career opportunities that could be open to them right on their doorstep on the ‘Energy Coastline’. We even had the pleasure of Tamar, from Redcar and Cleveland College, talking about how the college is preparing students with the skills they need for future careers in our area.

Over this action-packed morning, the children had the opportunity to become ‘Energy Engineers’ while they independently planned and built their own working model of a wind farm. We didn’t just stop there, we also looked at how hydrogen – the most abundant element in the universe – could be a clean, flexible, and energy-efficient fuel of the future!

The children set up their own hydrogen-powered car and learned about the process of electrolysis to separate the hydrogen from distilled water to power the car. Next, it was time to race them in the ‘Hydrogen Grand Prix!’ After an initial false start due to the lack of solar power, we headed back to the pit lane to use the battery packs. With their tanks full they flipped the switch again and the motor came to life! A buzz of excitement filled the cloakroom as the car named after Leonardo da Vinci won the race!

What a fabulous morning with these young engineers of the future!