The ‘Energy’ school laboratory run by the zdi Centre in the Kleve district, cleverMINT, kicked off its summer programme in the first week of the holidays with a four-day hands-on workshop on solar-powered boats.
Kleve/Kamp-Lintfort, 16 July 2015: The solar-powered boats were designed and built during the workshop using polystyrene, and were powered by motors connected to several solar panels. There were no limits to the participants’ imagination. For example, one group of three young people built a solar-powered boat with a total of six solar panels. Another group also fitted their solar-powered boat with batteries so that it could operate independently of sunlight.
At the end of the workshop, each group presented their solar-powered boats and entered them into a final race against one another. The best solar-powered boats in the categories of presentation, handling and speed were awarded prizes by Martina Bracht-Nienaber, zdi project coordinator, and Karen Herold, who is in charge of the school laboratory.
“Fortunately, the sun was shining and all the solar boats were ready for use and seaworthy. The young people’s feedback on the workshop was consistently positive. They had a lot of fun and brought a great deal of creativity and innovative ideas to the construction of their solar boats,” says Bracht-Nienaber.
Through its programme, the zdi Centre for the Kleve District, cleverMINT, aims to boost young people’s interest in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and to provide extracurricular activities to complement everyday school life, including during the school holidays.
The aim is to offer projects centred on STEM subjects in cooperation with regional businesses, Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences and schools in the Kleve district. For example, the solar boat workshop held during this summer’s holidays was supported by two apprentices from KHS GmbH, who contributed their technical and practical expertise. On the final day of the course, Martin Baufeld, the training manager at KHS GmbH, also gave participants the opportunity to experience the company’s working environment ‘first-hand’ through a tour of the premises.
Further details of the ‘Energy’ school laboratory’s summer holiday programme can be found in the attached leaflet and online at www.zdi-kleve.de. Registrations can also be made via the zdi Centre’s website.
Funded by the European Regional Development Fund:
With financial support from:
