Before we start...

Spring has just come to the Czech Republic and the situation seems to be getting more optimistic. Younger students have returned to school after one month of homeschooling. The older ones might be back in May. This is what we plan for them.

CZ ideas.pdf

What did we manage to do?

Our younger students and their greenhouses

The Sun is a powerful source of energy. Our youngest ones were not able to build solar power station, but they realized that there were more ways to utilize solar energy.

Having a greenhouse in the garden is a sort of tradition in the Czech Republic. How do they work? What are the best materials to build a greenhouse from? What can we grow in the greenhouse?

Children asked their parents and grandparents about their experience with greenhouses. Together with teachers they chose cops to grow: lentils, pea, pepper, tomatoes and some herbs such as basil and watercress. Using reused plastics students built small greenhouses and checked the everyday progress. Some of the greenhouses did not survive for long enough to support the crops, but the children discovered that even putting the crops on the window in the classroom helped a lot.

Not all experiments were successful. Some plants died because of the lack of water because of the exact opposite. On the other hand, some plants flourished. There were students that brought their experiment home for holiday and successfully grew peppers, tomatoes, and basil. Let’s have a look.

Older students and their zero-energy house

Our sixth grades discussed the possibilities of using clean and affordable energy in everyday life. They decided to focus on current technologies and their possible implementation in building zero-energy houses. Their project went in four steps. Students worked online because of the Covid situation so there is still one final part of the project to be completed.

Step one – Mind Mapping: What do we need energy from? What types of energy?

Step two – Researching: How can we save energy in a house? How can we produce clean as well as affordable energy to support our need? What technologies are available now? How much does it cost? Students had to fill in a short questionaire.

Here is how students from 6H answered. 

CZ QESTIONAIRE.pdf

Step three – Designing: What does the house look like? Where do we put the energy sources? What about insulation and recuperation? What materials are the best to use? Are they clean or affordable or both?

Step four – Crafting: Preparing a finishing a small mock house to show what we have discover. The house will be permanently presented in the school canteen with basic facts and explanation. This part has yet to be finished.