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Kids STEM activities for National Earth Day

Secondary

To celebrate National Earth Day on 22 April and consider ways in which we can all be more eco-friendly, we have come up with some new resources to support your teaching in this area.

If you are interested in sources of light, why not come up with your own design and make your own sustainably powered light or use the energy from a potato to see in the dark?

You could investigate the photovoltaic effect with your students and use this as a starter to identify different applications for photovoltaic cells, the power sources that were previously used for these applications, and the advantages of photovoltaic cells compared to these power sources.

You could also use your own school as a case study to see which sustainable technologies your school are already using or which ones may be advantageous to use in the future, as well as looking at ways in which your school community could save energy and reduce your carbon footprint.

These practical activities help your students explore a range of topics using hands-on approaches. We have also included links to our relevant posters and recent Engineer a Better World campaign looking at greener jobs of the future.

Please note, these resources and experiments have been specifically designed to be carried out with adult supervision or direction as appropriate, and it is recommended that the instructions are followed in a safe manner. All resources and experiments are carried out at your own risk.

Sustainable lighting design

Design and make a sustainably powered light.

Go to Light up the world

How to make a potato battery

Make a potato powered light.

Go to Potato power

Produce a treadle pump

Make a prototype of a treadle pump.

Go to Producing a treadle pump

Investigate the photovoltaic effect

Investigate the photovoltaic effect.

Go to Investigate the photovoltaic effect

What is sustainable energy?

Describe and explain what sustainable technologies could be used in school.

Go to Energy efficiency 1

How to reduce your carbon footprint

What could your school community do to save energy and reduce your carbon footprint?

Go to Energy efficiency 2

Poster: Save the Earth

Your chance to be an eco-warrior.

Go to Posters

Poster: Future travel

Exploring the green solutions for future travel.

Go to Posters

Generation Green

Find out about green jobs with Blue Peter Presenter, Lindsay Russell.

Go to https://www.engineer-a-better-world.org/get-involved/generation-green/

From waste to watts

Transforming food scraps into electricity!

National Earth Day facts

An introduction video for kids.

Miss Molecule

Meet Cornish Lithium and hear about the development and innovation happening in the Cornish lithium mining industry.

There is a website with further information about Earth Day: earthday.org

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