Using DIY kits to build houses that run on sustainable solar and wind energy, trainers helped children discover the engineering behind renewable power sources at the 16th annual Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival
Sharjah: The 16th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival is a powerhouse of not just books and reading sessions but also science workshops and artistic activities. A highlight among the workshops was “Power the Future” workshop where children received basic lessons in sustainable living using renewable energy.
Trainers from the UAE-based Nomad Workshops helped children discover how renewable energy technologies work by building small scale solar panels, wind turbines and other green energy solutions. One of the trainers briefed them about sustainable energy and the engineering behind it. He showed them a diagram of a solar energy harvesting process for a happy house. “Why is the power stored in a battery? For use at night when the sun is away,” he explained. He allowed them to segregate paper cuttings of good and bad energy sources into two separate glass bowls before getting into the actual task of building a solar-powered house.
The children, mostly in the 8 to 12 age group, then divided themselves into small teams to work on a power source they liked. They set about building a house using a 3D wooden puzzle kit while some others chose a bright plastic DIY house kit that also used stored solar energy; the detailed instructions sheet made their job easy. Each block fit in perfectly, and the trainers helped in attaching the small battery to charge the fan outside the wooden hut.
According to trainer Serge Gemayel, the activity will help children get familiar with alternative energy sources from sun, wind and water. “In this workshop, kids will first see the difference between good and bad energy. Then they will build small house models that are lit by solar panels. They will understand that for the world to move forward, it will need to depend on sustainable energy.”
