Have you ever wondered how exactly your phone gets charged? Where does that power come from, and how does it get to you? Well, Ms. Spensley’s grade 6s found out this week.
The energy unit of Beyond Recycling starts off by looking at power in British Columbia, where almost 90% of our energy comes from hydroelectric power. “That’s a lot of hydro!” one student commented. Yes, but it’s not surprising if you think about it. Our abundance of rivers, lakes and mountains to create the necessary change in elevation makes B.C. the perfect place for generating hydro power.
After learning how most of our energy is generated, we went on to discuss how it gets transported to individual houses and outlet. A fun little mix and match activity had the students discover the path as such: dam – turbine house – power lines – substation – hydro pole – meter – fuse box – outlet. Only then, can you charge your phone!
The best part of this lesson is undoubtedly the end, where Beyond Recycling educator Ms. Kim pulled out 3 different renewable energy models for the kids to play around with. Everyone got a turn to try their hand at generating wind power, solar power, and spinning a hydro power turbine. What fun!
