Category: STEM

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Wind Turbines Trip

On Monday 15th P4/5 went on a school to see the wind turbine at Castlehill. Before we left for the bus Mr Dean showed us a PowerPoint about wind turbines and how to build them. When we were at Castlehill it started to rain, everyone had to go in to the bus for shelter except from the first group that went in the turbine. We went into groups of five into the turbine. In our group was Caitidh, Christopher, Harmoni, Dylan, and Morgan. When our group was in there was a noise and the blades stopped spinning and everything turned off. It was very interesting to hear how the wind powered the turbines and generated electricity. After all the groups had went we went back in the bus and went to the Gaelic collage to see their solar panels and have our lunch.

Caitidh

On our school trip our class went see a wind turbine. It was quite cool with dials plus a lot more. Also we got to go inside the turbine. When we went in the door it looked very good and it looked like a big build. Mr Dean told us the turbine produced lots of electricity in kilowatts. That electrical energy is sent to the national grid for us to use. It had lots of stuff outside too like a satellite dish that sent all the information to Germany. They were lots of stuff in it and then…it stopped immediately. It stopped because it was going too fast. All other people in my class were inside too, we also did a few other things in our trip.

Drew

On Monday 15th January P4/5 went on a trip to the wind turbine up at Castle Hill. We went in groups of five to see inside of the wind turbines and George Dean was in there to and he was telling us about the turbines and about how it produces electricity. The wind turbine stopped spinning at one point when we were there and the kilowatts went to zero. But a few minuites later the speed of the turbine 3 million and something. The power of the wind makes the blades on the turbine turn which generates electrical energy. The satellite dish on the turbine sends all of information to the control system in Germany.

By Millie and Charlet Rose

On Monday 15th of January 2018 P4/5 went to the wind turbine on the High Road at Castlehill. We went inside the wind turbine, it was very noisy. Mr Dean showed us how fast the blades were going. It was going very fast for a small wind turbine. Mr Dean talked about wind turbines and how much it cost (the wind turbine cost 1.2 million) and how it works. He also talked about what you need: a crash helmet and a harness. We learned the satellite on the wind turbine sends the info and how much electric wind turbine to the company in Germany.

By Robyn and Phoenix.

The Wind Turbine

The wind turbine that we visited was up the high road at Castlehill. Mr Dean told us that the wind turbine was 63 meters tall, including the blades. We had to go up some stairs and hold onto the railing due to heavy wind. Mr Dean (the chairman of Islay Energy Trust) showed us inside the turbine and what everything does. We learned how many kilowatts and how much energy it’s producing. It also told the wind speed and how fast the blades were going. The electricity that is produced from the turbine is sent to the national grid and is then sent back to Islay.

by Harmoni & Orla

On Monday 15th we went to the Wind turbine at Castle hill. We learned that it takes 5 years to plan the turbine and 1 month to build and that it cost £1.2 million to build. It makes electricity when the blades spin round. We got to go inside and while we were inside we learned that the wind turbine dose one full circle and then it goes the other way so the cables don’t get tangled. If you’re trying to get up the ladder you have to wear a helmet and a harness incase you get hurt. There is a satellite dish that sends all the information to Germany.

Scott and Aiden

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Hydro Dam Trip

Yesterday we went to Ballygrant Quarry with p4/5. We saw a waterfall that generated power to a turbine which was stored in a shed. This was called a hydro dam. We learned that the river in Ballygrant leads into a pipe which travels to the waterfall that moves the turbine to produce energy. The energy from the turbine goes to Dunlossit Estate.
Dylan and Rhuraidh

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BP STEM Challenge Handy Hydro Port Ellen Entry

This term P67 have been learning about renewables and how energy is produced from different sources.  They went on a trip around the renewables projects on Islay and this inspired a group to enter the BP STEM Challenge by making and testing their own Hydro Energy device.  Watch the video they made for their entry below.

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Nuclear energy

Nuclear is a non renewable energy source.

Nuclear doesn’t release any gasses or fuels but if a tsunami happens or a terrorist attacks it,  it will release a lot of bad chemical that can cause global warming it can also kill people and it wont go away for thousands years.

The chemical reaction will cause radiation the parts of it will have to be hidden in a special rock because its the only rock that can hold it with out letting it go this rock has no cracks so it can hold it. This rock is on Islay!

Nuclear is from Radioactive minerals which are uranium they are found by mining. When the minerals are spilt they split in Nuclear reactors.

Nuclear only needs a tiny bit to create a lot of energy, It doesn’t release gasses or fuels.

They are expensive to run, if they leak they can have a massive effect on people.

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Wind Power

This term we learned about wind power and we made proper models on our wall for Rolls-Royce.  We made pin wheels too and we filmed this on the camera that Rolls-Royce gave us after we learned all of the parts.  Just today we were learning more about wind and wind turbines.  After the holidays we are going to visit a turbine on a trip. We are going inside it in the tower in case you don’t now what the tower is its the big long stick thing. Wind turbines generate energy and electricity. This energy and electricity is good for our planet because were an eco friendly school and we care about are environment. We did a challenge and we made  a paper wind mill using card , paper , cup , string , scissors , tape , and a pencil.  The  challenge was to make a wind mill that spins and lifts a plastic cup of the ground with weights in it. To make it move we used  a hair dryer.  It was fun.

by Dearbhla and Millie

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P4/5 Wind Turbines

 

Our class  have made wind turbines.  We made a wind turbine out of paper, pencil, sticks, string, pin tape ,string and scissors.

We stuck the pencil to the table and attached the string to the pencil. After that we put a hole in the middle of the blades. There is a cup you cut a two holes in it you put your string through the holes in the cup . Then you get a hairdryer and push the blades around.

 

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December Diary

Panto fever has hit Port Ellen as we have been preparing for our whole school pantomime which takes place every two years.  We have also been organising the Christmas Fair, our main fundraiser, and P1/2/3 are preparing for their Nativity. Meanwhile, our Rolls-Royce journey continues….

Statoil Young Imagineers Finalist

As a result of our engineering project, we had a finalist in the national Young Imagineers competition run by Statoil.  Sarah, from P6/7, invented a device that would save sheep stuck on their backs by making a scary sound and getting them to turn over.  Her device was made into a prototype and she had to present it at the final in London at the Science Museum.  Everyone is very proud of her achievement. Sarah says she is much more confident now about talking about engineering after presenting in front of a large audience, and she is inspired to take up engineering when she grows up.

YOUNG IMAGINEERING

 

Switch Off Fortnight

Continuing their learning about energy in Term1, Kate Brown’s class (P4/5) decided to try and encourage everyone to use less energy in school and at home. The children were quite shocked at how much electricity an electric shower uses and from looking at energy use they decided to make others understand this and think about saving energy, electricity in particular. So they joined the National “Switch Off Fortnight” and made information posters for the local community and home. This campaign was so successful that this week they are keen to spend part of the Christmas Disco without lights and use alternative sources instead…..glow sticks are at the ready!

 

Introducing Renewables

This month Primary 6/7 have been working hard on researching renewable and non renewable sources of energy with Jo Clark.  They wanted to know what energy sources are used in Scotland and the implications for the environment.  Using One note they researched online and then used the notes to create posters, blogs and Sways.  They debated in class the various types of energy source and chose the ones they thought were best, and wrote a discursive essay on renewable energy.  In maths they looked at data produced by the Scottish Government on Energy use in Scotland and then analysed, interpreted and drew conclusions from it as part of a holistic assessment. Finally, they came up with pledges of what they could do themselves to reduce energy consumption.

Meanwhile, in P4/5 with Kate Brown, the children have been learning about wind power as there is a tall wind turbine outside the village. The children know that wind is sustainable and they made their own pinwheels to record the wind direction/wind strength associated with the speed of the wheel which led to discussions about what happens to wind turbines when there is no wind, and how strong winds here in Islay can be used to generate electricity. They then worked in groups to complete the Wind Turbine Challenge from the STEM website. The aim was to create a fair test to try to make a turbine that could raise a cup from the floor using a hairdryer. Charlet said, “Our group all had roles and Rhuraidh was the engineer. He designed a turbine but the rest of us felt there was not enough detail to make the model and so Caitidh, our artist, added more. Then we used card for the blades and a pencil for the shaft. At first we taped the shaft to the desk but it wouldn’t go round so we fixed that problem by putting card over the pencil loosely so it could turn. Sadly, our Turbine only lifted the cup a little bit but did manage when we gave it a bit of a hand.  Next time we would change the size and shape of the blades and also use stronger wind power”

Next term George Dean will be helping us to organise visits to the Islay wind turbine and other sites that generate or use renewable energy on Islay.

Learning how Energy impacts on the Environment

In P1/2/3 Maggie Harrison has been using a story called Who will Save Us? to introduce the concept of global warming.  All the children have been really engaged with learning all about the Antarctic and the penguins who live there and then how global warming might cause the ice to melt and affect not only penguins but other animals and people in different parts of the world too.  Iona made this fantastic poster and she said that she ‘didn’t like the bad gas getting stuck in the earth’s blanket and that we should save the penguins and polar bears!’

Engineering in Pre-School

Joint sessions of structured play have started with the nursery and P1/2 – these will continue on a weekly basis from now until the end of the session. Maggie Harrison and Alison Logan are working together to plan how to incorporate the development of engineering thinking into these, although with new giant wooden blocks and the KNEX purchased the children are building some amazing structures.

Maureen MacDonald and Maggie Harrison have had meetings with Headteachers from the other primary schools in Islay and Jura to see how they can be involved in our Rolls-Royce project next term.  Following the school being awarded a Digital Schools Award, the first school in Argyll & Bute to do so, Jo Clark was also interviewed with regards to a national website wanting to develop engineering skills across schools in the UK for the 2018 Year of Engineering.

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Hydro Power

Hydro power makes electricity by water being released from a reservior flowing through a turbine,spinning it, which in turn activates a generator to make electricity. Hydro power is a renewable energy source. 18% of the UK uses hydro power. It’s negative point is that  it is expensive to build and it dams water flooding lots of land.   However it won’t pollute the air with greenhouse gases like power plants that burn fossil fules.  We have small scale hydro electric projects on Islay that make electricity for a house.  There is also a large scale project near Oban, called Cruachan Hydro Plant.  Islay has used water since olden days to move things as this old abandoned waterwheel shows.

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Coal

Coal is a non-renewable energy source and it is also a fossil fuel.  Fossil fuels are a source of energy that takes millions of years to form and people use them so much that someday they will run out; coal is a fossil fuel. To produce electricity coal is burned to heat water and produce steam; the steam then propels the blades of the turbine. Then it is attached to a generator and this produces electricity.

electricity from coal

There are advantages and disadvantages about coal. The advantages are:

  • Coal can be found in a lot of places and there is still plenty in the UK
  • Coal can be easily transported to the power station
  • Coal is a relatively cheap energy source
  • There are many coal reserves in the world

The coal disadvantages are:

To dig up coal, we have to dig up mines and they can be dangerous

  • Transporting coal by lorry and train mine to the power station causes pollution in the world
  •  Coal is a non-renewable source and will eventually run out in around 100 years
  • Burning coal releases greenhouse gases which add to global warming
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Biomass a Renewable energy source.

Biomass is a Renewable energy source it is also short for biological material. Biomass creates heat and energy. The energy it contains is from the sun. Biomass is created by burning things like some crops, types of rubbish, manure, scrap and lumber forest in a boiler. The  most common types of Biomass boilers are hot water boilers and steam boilers. Co-firing biomass with coal is a very effective way of using biomass for energy. Biomass is the only renewable energy source that can be converted into liquid. The countries that use Biomass the most are Sweden, Austria, and the United states of America.

 

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We Became A Digital School

Our school has just achieved digital school status through the Digital Schools Scotland Awards Scheme.  To achieve this we had to review our approach to technology in school and have our work validated.  We spoke to a lady called Jen Mackay using Glow Meet, and she asked us questions like what technology have you been using in school.  We are the first school in the whole of Argyll to win this award and the first to do it via Glow.  Jen MacKay said that we were very good at telling her what technology we use in school and what we use it for. We use Glow for writing essays and homework and also for writing blogs on our website and our learning blog.  We use Classdojo so that if we needed to bring in something to school like a packed lunch for a school trip Mrs Clark can message our mum or dad, we also use Excel to work out points for our houses.  Sumdog Maths is really helpful for us too and we also use Nessy to help us with our spelling skills.

So that is how we became a digital school.

By Abi Logan

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Imagineers Presentation London Trip

 

On Saturday 18th November I  went to London as a finalist for the Tomorrows Engineer competition. In the competition there were 10 finalists from all around the UK. All the finalists had to meet up in the Science Museum to present their invention in front of 4 judges and the audience.  We had professional posters made to show our inventions.  My invention was the Scaredy Sheep, a device that would bark like a dog and is attached to the sheeps ear so when sheep get stuck on their backs they are scared into jumping up again.

When the finalists first arrived we went down into a room where the judges were and we got to talk to them and the host so we weren’t as scared to talk about our inventions in front of them. We also had to get head sets on so we could do a sound check. After the break we all went down and sat down. The first thing that happened was a balloon experiment and a bubble experiment. In the bubble experiment a lady got bubble mixture and big bubble stick. Another lady came out and got another bubble stick and each side of the room did a bubble competition. The balloon experiment was really cool because a lady put a balloon on fire and it made a REALLY loud bang.

Then the first finalists went up to present their ideas. Then we got a quick break to explore the museum. After about 15 minutes we had to go back and on my way in their was a robot called Oscar who walked into me. Oscar was a really cool robot because he speaks to you and hands out chocolates and  lollipops. Finally we got into the room and sat down and then there was another quiz. Then it was lunch and after we got to have a quick demonstration on how the body digests food. It wasn’t a good sight at all!

After the disgusting demonstration I had to go up and present my idea. I was nervous but excited and was proud of explaining my invention. Then the judges came out and the host announced the winner,  and the winning design was an excellent hover wheelchair. We all congratulated the winner and then we got to explore more of the museum. After a long day I went back to my hotel. I really enjoyed the competition and I would like to be an engineer when I grow up. While I was there I learnt that to complete something you have to stick with it and keep trying.

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The Engineer Grabber Challenge

In class we have been looking at engineering and we have been doing challenges in groups to help us feel like an engineer. For this challenge we were told that we had make a model and we were to be able to pick up an object from one metre away. First thing that we did in our groups was go off separately and make a design and label it so that we could see how it would work and what materials it needed to be made. When that was finished we got back in our groups and we decided what one that we would make. We went of and started to make our model and when we had to test it out and my group managed to pick up a water bottle from a metre away. Then when we had finished Mrs Clark decided who was the winner of this challenge and it was my group.

Rowan Morris

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November Diary

 

Renewables Engineering Islay – November Diary

 

Mentor Visit

We were all delighted to welcome Neil Chattle from Rolls-Royce to the school at the end of October. He spent time getting to know the team and having a tour of the school. He gave a presentation to the children in the afternoon and they had an opportunity to see some of the materials and parts that make up a Rolls-Royce jet engine.  We were all amazed that the cooling mechanism allows the engine to operate above it’s melting point and that it would be capable of preventing an ice cube melting in a hot oven!  Clever engineering indeed!  Neil introduced the children to the Bloodhound SSC.  Working in teams, the children then built model Bloodhounds powered by balloons and had a great afternoon trying to refine them to make them go faster.  Coincidentally, Neil’s visit was the day before the first public test run of the Bloodhound in Newquay, Cornwall…..so the whole school watched as the car made 210mph.  We will follow Bloodhound’s progress with interest.

 

Children as Leaders

Following leadership training, P6/7 children have been encouraged to set up clubs for younger pupils so we now have a KNEX Club and a Lego Club, in addition to the usual football, table tennis and dance clubs.  Maureen MacDonald, Headteacher, encourages us to promote leadership at all levels within the school. The clubs have been really well attended and we used some of the funding to purchase new KNEX and Lego material for them. Dearbhla says that ‘KNEX club is really fun because you make something new every time and I am learning new skills to make cubes that are really tricky.’ Donald, who runs the Lego Club said that “We are encouraging children to use their imagination and be creative with the Lego.” Charlie is promoting teamwork by asking children to build small components of bigger models.

After-School Clubs

We have started an after-school club for children from P4-7, supervised by Jo Clark.  Again there has been lots of interest in this and we are lucky to have the support of two senior pupils from Islay High School – Young STEM Ambassadors – to help us.  It’s great to have these young women to be positive role models for girls in the primary school. They have been giving children open-ended problem solving tasks where children have had to work together to solve a problem. Last week they were engineering a carrier to transport a ping pong ball down a zip-wire.

Tomorrow’s Engineers Week

Throughout the school we are continuing to promote engineering and develop engineering habits of mind.  As a school we engaged with Tomorrow’s Engineers Week. Jo Clark and P6/7 found out about sustainable engineering and the 6Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse, Rethink and Repair – to appreciate that the environment needs to be considered alongside any engineering solution and that any design needs to be both efficient and sustainable in terms of the environment. Matthew Campbell says ‘We had to  rank the 6Rs in order – I thought that reuse was the best one because things can be used many times are best for the environment.” They were tasked with building a “Helping Hand Grabber’ which had to have a reach of 1m.  In Kate Brown’s P4/5 class the children looked at different types of bridge design.  They then worked in groups to build some fantastic bridges.  Already Kate could see progress in her children from the initial bridges that were built on the baseline build.  In P1/2/3 Maggie Harrison invited parents in to join their children doing an engineering challenge – design and build a chair for baby bear, who had cruelly had his chair ruined when Goldilocks visited.  Alison Logan and all the children in the Nursery have been making the most of the new resources we have bought for them – Kids KNEX and stories like Rosie Revere, Engineer.  This week we are starting our joint sessions – structured play for pre-5 children and P1 and P2 together.  Maggie and Alison will be working together on this; once the children are settled into this new routine this will be an ideal opportunity to share practice in developing engineering skills.

Thinking about Energy

Meanwhile the whole school are continuing to think about how we use energy in our school and in our lives.  Our new Eco-monitors are being vigilant about switching off lights and George Dean from the Islay Energy Trust is going to get the school some energy meters. The Islay Energy Trust is a community-owned charity. Its aims are to develop and operate renewable energy projects for the benefit of the community, and to reduce the island’s carbon footprint. George will be supporting us with this project, organizing site visits for children and putting us in contact with different renewables companies that are looking to operate locally. P4/5 are busy organizing activities for Switch Off fortnight – more news to follow.  In all the classes we have started looking at the effect that our energy use has on the planet and this will be our focus for the rest of this term. Maureen MacDonald and Maggie Harrison have met the Parent Council and are promoting the project more widely in the community.

 

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A Chair for Baby Bear

As part of Tomorrow’s Engineers week mums, dads and grans came in to help P1/2/3 with an engineering challenge.  The problem was that Goldilocks had broken Baby Bear’s chair and so when Mummy Bear made him some more porridge there was nowhere for him to sit. A great afternoon was had by all and we had some interesting designs.  At the end of the afternoon Baby Bear tested out all the chairs; they had to stay standing for 10 seconds. Thanks to everyone who came along to help us.

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Our Rainbow Beam Bridge

We built a bridge using cardboard, lego, string, lolly sticks and tape. We tested it to see if it was sturdy by putting a toy car on and it didn’t fall down. We had to make the legs shorter because it was not stable. We added lolly sticks like a triangle for extra support. The lego was used as pillars to hold up the glass roof which is to shelter the vehicles or pedestrians from the weather.

Image result for beam bridge

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Bridges

Today we made bridges and we are only allowed to use scissors, sellotape, string, lego, cardboard, lolly sticks and plastic. Myself and Dylan made a suspension bridge we used lots of lego – Dylan was my lego helper he went to get me lego. We used  string for the suspension part of the bridge, lego for the legs and suspension part and cardboard for the actual bit of the bridge. We used sellotape to tape the legs on and the suspension  part of the bridge and to tape the string on to the lego and now it is done. We are very proud of our bridge!

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Tomorrows Engineers

In school this week the whole of the school is doing a topic called Tomorrows Engineers. In p1/2/3 they have been getting their parents in to help them make their models which were chairs. In p4/5 they have been making fabulous bridges some are small and some big. In p6/7 we have been making grabbers to pick up something.

Here is one of p6/7’s grabbers:

Here is one of p4/5’s bridges:

Here is one of p1/2/3’s chairs:

By Abi Logan

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Brilliant Bridges

We created a sturdy bridge with 2 coffee can as supports as well as 1 tower of lego in the middle, on top there is a strand of card , a welcome sign on top of the card and some triangles made out of sticks. it is a very sturdy bridge because of all of the supports. we can also fit some boats underneath. so overall it is a very good bridge design.

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Tomorrow’s Engineers Week

This week, 6-10th November is Tomorrow’s Engineers week.  At Port Ellen we will be doing lots of engineering challenges and finding out more about what an engineer is and how they solve problems.  We will be engineers on a mission, solving problems and sorting the planet.  See the PPT below to find out more about engineering careers.

make-a-difference-be-an-engineer-2

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Port Ellen welcomes our Rolls-Royce Science Prize mentor

We were delighted to welcome Neil Chattle, our mentor for the Rolls-Royce Science Prize, to Port Ellen on Wednesday.  Children enjoyed listening to a presentation about Rolls-Royce and Neil’s career as an engineer with the company.  They got a chance to handle some pieces of jet engines and we were all amazed how lightweight some of the components were and how the cooling systems within the engines would be able to stop ice cubes from melting in a hot oven! We were then introduced to the Bloodhound, a supersonic car powered by a Rolls-Royce engine, and got to work in teams to build a model Bloodhound powered by balloons.  Neil said that he’d never seen balloon models go so far!

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Engineering Bridges

A big part of our Rolls-Royce Science Prize project this year is developing engineering skills and encouraging children to think like engineers.  Our first challenge was to build a bridge with a span of 30cm that could support a plastic cup which would then have weights added. To make it even more tricky there was a strict time limit!  In P1/2/3 the winning bridge held 20 marbles!!

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