Solarwave - Let`s save the Planet!

Everyone studied the topic of energy using each school’s usual curriculum plans but with an extra emphasis on the content of this meeting. The pupils found out all about the energy we use, how that energy is produced and how that use contributes to climate change. They started to discover alternative sources of energy and why we need to develop these if we are to reverse climate change. In preparation for the week in Lithuania we asked every school to carry out the following activities as part of their work. Firstly, children discussed the ways that they use energy at home and school and thought about how they might change their behaviour to save energy. Then they designed a poster of their ‘Top Tips’ for how each of them might contribute to energy conservation. The second activity was a competition to make an energy efficient toy car that used a rubber band as its main energy source. Children experimented with various designs to see who could design the fastest? The pupils chosen to participate in the meeting brought some of their best posters and their two champion toy cars to present at the meeting. They explained their designs and then entered them into the competition to find the champion who went the fastest. The races were exciting, and the races were very close despite the differences in design. Both the posters and the model cars were part of a small science fair during the meeting. Each school prepared some work about energy saving initiatives in their area (such as a wind or solar farm, an eco-housing scheme, etc.?). This work took various forms as there were very different local initiatives in each country. During the meeting, the host school planned activities that highlighted energy conservation activities and initiatives in the local area. The pupils visited TikoTiks, an alternative energy and waste recycling company, where they saw how some things were being re-used by member of the community, who could come and choose items that were no longer wanted and had been rescued. There were also useful items that were being made from refuse, such as shopping bags from old curtains and other material. Finally they saw the use of leftover waste to make and store electricity. At the Meteliai Regional Park, pupils took part in conservation workshops. They had a workshop with an ecologist who explained bird migration and the impact of climate change on their behaviour. This reinforced the need for non-fossil fuel burning energy creation. In Vilnius the visited the energy museum, housed in the old Power Station. Here they learned about the history of electricity generation, modern electricity generation and new methods being introduced.