On Monday 21^st November 2022 the geography department arranged for a group of Year 9 pupils to attend a workshop delivered by Rewise Learning and commissioned by Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE). 

The SSE climate connect (STEM workshops) consisted of several challenges.  The first challenge required pupils to understand geographical vocabulary relating to renewable energy such as biodiversity, net zero etc. 

The second challenge required pupils to identify the different parts that make a wind turbine such as the rotor hub, blades, nacelle etc.  The third challenge required pupils to discuss the social and environmental advantages and disadvantages of using wind energy over non-renewable resources.  The fourth challenge required pupils to build their own wind turbine charger with a range of kit to include a 5V DC motor, LM2596 voltage regulator, propeller, and USB cable.  The fifth challenge required pupils to find the angle that produces the most power using a multimeter and used an anemometer to find the wind speed at different angles.  The sixth challenge required the pupils to find the distance that generates the most power from the turbine.  The seventh challenge required the pupils to choose from 4 different types of glades to find the most effective at generating the most power. 

Some pupils completed an eighth challenge by coding an Arduino microcontroller to read the voltage from the wind turbine, displayed on a PC/laptop.