IF the idea of bingo in the classroom sounds a bit unusual try asking the pupils at St Andrews in Orkney what they think and they’ll give you a rather different answer.
The game, which is all about climate change, is part of a programme of workshops designed to give youngsters across the Highlands and Islands hands-on experience about renewable energy.
Around 100 schools throughout the region are taking part in the project which is being run by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) between now and Christmas and is part of its year-long public information campaign to deepen understanding about the role of renewable energy.
Elaine Hanton, head of renewables at HIE says: “The purpose of these workshops is to make learning fun while at the same time encouraging youngsters to take things such as energy efficiency and the development of different kinds of renewable energy technologies seriously.
“We tested out the format of the workshops in a number of centres and got a very positive feedback and are confident the content will really engage and enthuse young people.”
Each workshop includes a series of games about climate change and energy efficiency plus simple science-based experiments. Children also get to make a wind turbine and try out an anemometer so they can see the wind speeds at their schools.
Correen Davies, a P7 pupil from St Andrews described the workshop as ‘brilliant’.
Fellow pupil Ricky Delday said: “I really like the games. You get to learn a bit of everything. Knowing about climate change is really important.”
The workshops are being co-ordinated by Community Service Volunteers (CSV) on behalf of HIE.
Elanor Gordon, project co-ordinator for CSV, said of the first workshops: “The children were fully engaged in the range of activities and learnt plenty about the importance of reducing carbon emissions by being energy efficient and changing to renewable sources of energy.
“The feedback from their teachers also showed them to be enthused and empowered to teach pupils further on this topic.”
Other schools on Orkney who will be taking part in the workshops are Stenness, Orphir, Evie, Firfth, Shapinsay and North Walls.
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Contact: Mairi Gillies
Phone: 01463 244235
Email: Mairi.Gillies@hient.co.uk
Website: http://www.hie.co.uk
