Pupils from Cockburnspath Primary School in Berwickshire will be exploring ways to harness human energy and produce electricity when Power from the People visits their school next week as part of Generation Science, a touring programme of science shows and workshops delivered by the Edinburgh International Science Festival.
Donated by EDF Energy’s Torness Power Station, Power from the People is a brand new touring workshop designed to tie in with NVA's Speed of Light project which will transform Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh through a series of night-time events during August. The project is part of the Edinburgh International Festival and will see walkers and runners activate equipment partially designed to harvest energy, animating the hillside with trails of patterned light.
Power from the People is an interactive workshop which investigates ways in which we can use human energy to produce electricity. Pupils will work with dynamos, understand how they make electricity and look at ways in which they can generate real power from people.
Mr Ward, Head Teacher said: “We are delighted to welcome Generation Science to Cockburnspath Primary and hope the workshop will give our pupils a fun insight into how electricity is created and how different our lives would be without it.”
Torness Power Station’s community liaison officer Ashleigh Dickson said: “As Britain’s largest generator of low carbon electricity, we are really keen to educate children about how electricity is produced and the importance of saving energy when we can. Children are never too young to learn about energy issues and this show will introduce them to electricity in a lively and entertaining way. We hope the pupils enjoy the show, which we hope will not only bring science to life in the classroom, but inspire a future generation of scientists for Scotland.”
Joan Davidson, Generation Science Manager said: “This year, Generation Science celebrates its 21st year of, successfully touring science shows all over Scotland, engaging more than a million pupils through bringing science to life, and educating and exciting pupils by the true wonder and meaning of science. Our workshops and shows cover six different strands of the curriculum for excellence and are designed to make learning and teaching science not just simple and fun, but truly inspirational. “
Power from the People is one of 16 amazing shows and workshops provided by Generation Science which are designed to make science fun, exciting and easy to understand and to help teachers cover the school science curriculum. The Generation Science tour reaches over 55,000 primary school children and over 600 schools in 31 Local Authority areas annually, it is the largest school science touring programme in the UK and has activities for all ages, from infant classes right up to upper primary.
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Notes to Editors: For more information, please email claire.cook@edf-energy.com. Alternatively, you can call Claire on 01355 846283 or 07785 762 375.
For more information on Generation Science Touring Scotland 2012 visit www.generationscience.co.uk or contact Emma Henderson, Press and Media, emma@pi-communications.co.uk, 07977 134 614 or 0131 553 0321.
Generation Science
Generation Science is the Edinburgh International Science Festival’s schools touring programme. As an organisation the Festival’s mission is to inspire, encourage and challenge people of all ages and backgrounds to explore and understand the world around them – and to communicate the educational, social and economic benefits of science and technology.
Generation Science’s Spring touring dates are 30 January to 23 March and during the Summer term from 23 April to 25 May 2012.
The Edinburgh International Science Festival runs from 30 March to 15 April 2012. For more information on this year’s exciting programme of events visit
www.sciencefestival.co.uk
EDF Energy
EDF Energy is one of the UK’s largest energy companies and the largest producer of low-carbon electricity, producing around one-sixth of the nation's electricity from its nuclear power stations, wind farms, coal and gas power stations and combined heat and power plants. The company supplies gas and electricity to more than 5.5 million business and residential customer accounts and is the biggest supplier of electricity by volume in Great Britain.
EDF Energy’s safe and secure operation of its eight existing nuclear power stations at sites across the country makes it the UK’s largest generator of low carbon electricity. EDF Energy is also leading the UK's nuclear renaissance and has published plans to build four new nuclear plants, subject to the right investment framework. These new plants could generate enough low carbon electricity for about 40% of Britain’s homes. They would make an important contribution to the UK’s future needs for clean, secure and affordable energy. The project is already creating business and job opportunities for British companies and workers.
Through Our Sustainability Commitments, EDF Energy has launched one of the biggest environmental and social programmes of any British energy company and the company has since been awarded the highest ranking of Platinum Plus in Business in the Community’s 2011 Corporate Responsibility Index, the UK’s leading voluntary benchmark of corporate responsibility.
EDF is the official electricity supplier and a sustainability partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The company is also helping its customers and others use energy more sustainably through products and initiatives such as Team Green Britain, smart meters and electric vehicle research.
EDF Energy is part of EDF Group, one of Europe’s largest power companies. The company employs around 15,000 people at locations across the UK.
For more news from EDF Energy please see www.edfenergy.com/media-centre/ . To find out more about the UK's energy challenges look at www.edfenergy.com/energyfuture/
Generation Science is supported by EDF Energy, Scottish Government, Edina Trust, Generation Science Club, Baillie Gifford, City of Edinburgh Council, Diabetes UK Scotland, Exxon Mobil, Marine Scotland, NVA, ProStrakan Group Plc, Rio Tinto Alcan, Scottish Gas, Scottish Natural Heritage, Talisman Energy, TOTAL, Veolia Water and Wolfson Microelectronics. We also received funding from many trusts and foundations including; Barcapel Foundation, Binks Trust, Carnegie Dunfermline Trust, Cruden Foundation, Equitable Charitable Trust, Gannochy Trust, IET Education Fund, John Watson’s Trust, MacRobert Trust, Mikel Fund, Leng Charitable Trust, Hugh Fraser Foundation, Robertson Trust and Sylvia Aitken Charitable Trust.