{"id":5546,"date":"2025-09-18T18:03:21","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T17:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/stjosephsprimary\/?p=5546"},"modified":"2025-09-18T18:03:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T17:03:23","slug":"powering-up-our-learning-at-tongland-power-station-%e2%9a%a1%f0%9f%92%a7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/stjosephsprimary\/?p=5546","title":{"rendered":"Powering Up Our Learning at Tongland Power Station \u26a1\ud83d\udca7"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>P4\u20137 pupils had an amazing trip to <strong>Tongland Power Station<\/strong> this week, joined by Portpatrick P4\u20136. Together we explored how water can be turned into electricity \u2013 and got to see some fascinating history and engineering up close!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inside the old manager\u2019s office, pupils handled artefacts such as vintage phones, radios, safes and check-in cards. Everyone loved trying on the old uniforms and imagining what it would have been like to work at the station years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also learned about hydropower \u2013 how the Galloway Hydro Scheme uses rivers, lochs, mountains and rainfall to produce renewable energy. Our guides explained the whole process using big interactive screens and models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, we headed up to the dam, where the flood gates were open and we could see the huge rush of water flowing out. Because the water and wind were so loud, everyone wore headsets here to hear the guides clearly. The guides also showed us the fish ladder, built so salmon can swim upstream to lay their eggs each year \u2013 a brilliant example of how engineering and nature work together. \ud83c\udf0a\ud83d\udc1f<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The children asked brilliant questions throughout the visit and loved spotting how the water journeyed from the loch to the power station. It was a fantastic day of STEM learning in real life, and we came back buzzing with ideas for our own science and geography lessons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A big thank you to the staff at Tongland Power Station for their warm welcome and brilliant explanations \u2013 and to our staff and volunteers for making the trip possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>UNCRC Articles<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Article 12<\/strong> \u2013 Right to be heard: pupils shared ideas and asked questions throughout the visit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 24<\/strong> \u2013 Right to a safe and healthy environment: learning about how renewable energy protects our world.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 29<\/strong> \u2013 Right to education that develops talents and respect for the environment: the trip deepened pupils\u2019 understanding of sustainability and community responsibility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>SDG 7 \u2013 Affordable and Clean Energy<\/strong>: understanding how hydro power works in our area.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>SDG 13 \u2013 Climate Action<\/strong>: learning how renewable energy can help reduce climate change.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>SDG 14 &amp; 15 \u2013 Life Below Water &amp; Life on Land<\/strong>: seeing how the fish ladder helps salmon and supports local wildlife.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>SHANARRI Indicators<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Safe<\/strong>: listening carefully to guides at the dam and following safety instructions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Responsible<\/strong>: respecting equipment, wearing headsets, and looking after one another.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Included<\/strong>: working alongside Portpatrick pupils and sharing experiences.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Achieving<\/strong>: gaining real-life STEM knowledge about renewable energy and conservation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Meta-skills<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Curiosity<\/strong>: asking great questions about how electricity is made.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Collaboration<\/strong>: working with classmates and Portpatrick pupils to complete activities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Critical Thinking<\/strong>: linking what they saw to what they know about science and geography.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Leadership<\/strong>: older pupils guiding and supporting younger ones during the tour.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Strands of Fai<\/strong>th<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Signs of God<\/strong> \u2013 recognising God\u2019s presence in the world through creation and the power of nature.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Word of God<\/strong> \u2013 reflecting on how we care for the world and its resources, following Jesus\u2019 teaching of stewardship.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reign of God<\/strong> \u2013 exploring how communities can work together to live more sustainably and care for all creation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"959\" data-id=\"5548\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/public\/stjosephsprimary\/uploads\/sites\/8813\/2025\/09\/18180247\/IMG_7736-1024x959.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/public\/stjosephsprimary\/uploads\/sites\/8813\/2025\/09\/18180247\/IMG_7736-1024x959.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/public\/stjosephsprimary\/uploads\/sites\/8813\/2025\/09\/18180247\/IMG_7736-300x281.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/public\/stjosephsprimary\/uploads\/sites\/8813\/2025\/09\/18180247\/IMG_7736-768x719.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/public\/stjosephsprimary\/uploads\/sites\/8813\/2025\/09\/18180247\/IMG_7736-800x749.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/public\/stjosephsprimary\/uploads\/sites\/8813\/2025\/09\/18180247\/IMG_7736.jpeg 1260w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"5547\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/public\/stjosephsprimary\/uploads\/sites\/8813\/2025\/09\/18180246\/45853e66-e17a-4c38-a851-cd0d8c983f45-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/public\/stjosephsprimary\/uploads\/sites\/8813\/2025\/09\/18180246\/45853e66-e17a-4c38-a851-cd0d8c983f45-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/public\/stjosephsprimary\/uploads\/sites\/8813\/2025\/09\/18180246\/45853e66-e17a-4c38-a851-cd0d8c983f45-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/public\/stjosephsprimary\/uploads\/sites\/8813\/2025\/09\/18180246\/45853e66-e17a-4c38-a851-cd0d8c983f45-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/public\/stjosephsprimary\/uploads\/sites\/8813\/2025\/09\/18180246\/45853e66-e17a-4c38-a851-cd0d8c983f45-800x600.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/public\/stjosephsprimary\/uploads\/sites\/8813\/2025\/09\/18180246\/45853e66-e17a-4c38-a851-cd0d8c983f45-400x300.jpeg 400w, https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/public\/stjosephsprimary\/uploads\/sites\/8813\/2025\/09\/18180246\/45853e66-e17a-4c38-a851-cd0d8c983f45.jpeg 1260w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>P4\u20137 pupils had an amazing trip to Tongland Power Station this week, joined by Portpatrick P4\u20136. Together we explored how water can be turned into electricity \u2013 and got to see some fascinating history and engineering up close! Inside the old manager\u2019s office, pupils handled artefacts such as vintage phones, radios, safes and check-in cards. Everyone loved trying on the old uniforms and imagining what it would have been like<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/stjosephsprimary\/?p=5546\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20916,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/stjosephsprimary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/stjosephsprimary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/stjosephsprimary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/stjosephsprimary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/20916"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/stjosephsprimary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5546"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/stjosephsprimary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5549,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/stjosephsprimary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5546\/revisions\/5549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/stjosephsprimary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/stjosephsprimary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/stjosephsprimary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}