Year 5 and 6 students from Water Mill Primary School are creating a working water wheel to illustrate forces, and generate power to drive a bird scarer and harvest rainwater for irrigation.
The project, started in 2009, has created opportunities for children to learn about forces, the environment and conservation issues. With the aid of a Royal Society Partnership Grant, students have worked with teachers and engineers to design a working water mill to power bird scarers and harvest rainwater for the school vegetable patch. Children are learning how the combination of wind, solar and human power can be utilised to harvest water that will power a water mill to generate energy. They are able to observe, analyse and compare the efficiency of the different energy sources.
“The project is teaching children about water and energy conservation in a fun and practical way, and showing there are sustainable energy solutions for a variety of problems, even in their own immediate environment,” says Ms Jenny Edginton, Head Teacher, Water Mill Primary School.
Visitors to the exhibit will be able to see how the students created the water mill and the concepts they developed through photographs, examples of work, using data, viewing models, using models and talking to the students themselves. People will also be able to experiment with their own ideas for water wheels using construction kits and then try them out in the water tank.
Exhibiting at A winning partnership: science in schools between Tuesday 29 June and Thursday 1 July 2010.
Exhibited by Water Mill Primary School
