Solar Mechanics

Whilst on holiday recently we took the opportunity of visiting a renewable energy museum called CAT (Centre for Alternative Technology) in the north of Wales. I wasn't sure what to expect or how my children would view it or even what their understanding of the topics would be like. I'm fairly certain there were a lot of issues that the boys couldn't connect with as my eldest is still only just turned 7 but they explored the outside museum with open eyes and ready brains. I think most of the suggestions about energy saving measures you can take within the home were ignored, taps still run, lights are still left on and cars are still preferred to their feet (well at least for Mr Cheeky anyway). But the children were drawn to the lovely gardens, a dark walk-through mole hole and the wind and water energy models. We had rather fortuitously just completed the lesson on the sun in our Apologia science course on Astronomy and so when I came across a Solar Mechanics kit in the gift shop it really was a must have.

The kit is advertised as being for ages 8 and upwards but with a little parental instruction my 5 and 7 year old have got along just fine with the instructions and models. The purpose of the kit is to show children how solar cells can convert energy from sunlight into mechanical energy through a variety of models. The kit also instructs on some experiments that can be undertaken, for example altering the angle of the solar panel and seeing it's effect, or using different sources of light to power the models. We are half way through the models now and although I haven't captured them all by picture I did get a good recording of a solar powered car. 

Waiting in line to be tested is a knight robot, but our gloomy English weather and rain is preventing us from testing the robot. Solar powered fun rocks!