Power House provides an engaging
introduction to regenerative energy sources while teaching basic concepts
and principles in physical science. The kit focuses on the heat and light
energy from the sun, the energy from the wind, as well as with
electrochemical and plant energy. You will learn how to transform and use
these forms of energy.
With
the Power House kit you can build a model house complete with solar panels,
windmill, greenhouse, and desalination system. You can build and operate an
electric train, windmill, solar cooker, solar hot water tank, hygrometer,
electric motor, power hoist, sail car, and more! Plant watercress, prepare
sauerkraut, and make chewing gum. Learn how plants convert sunlight into
energy for your body and your engines.
The
thoughtfully designed series of experiments was developed by physicist Uwe
Wandrey. Professor Wandrey creatively integrates physical science and
technology lessons with the adventure of building a home and living on a
remote island. To survive, you must learn how to harness the power of the
sun and the wind as well as tap the energy of other physical forces. The
storyline follows the experiments in a stepwise fashion. Easy-to-follow
activities make it fun to build models and use them for your experiments.
We hope that building small models such as are provided in
Power House will inspire you to plan and construct something on a larger
scale.
An Adventure in
Sustainable
Living
The Power House Experiment Manual is much more than just a
set of instructions. The manual is organized around the story of a group of
island dwellers who must learn to live sustainably using the resources
available to them on their small island. As you read their journal entries
and learn of their projects and experiments, you build models of the same
projects and conduct the same experiments alongside them.
More than 20 different building projects in one kit!
Experiments
Power House includes a
96-page
full color manual with 70 experiments and 20 building projects, organized
into these nine chapters:
The Heat Trap: Construct and experiment with a
greenhouse.
The Sun Collector: Collect the sun’s rays to heat
water.
The Sun Burners: Make a solar cooker while learning
about the principles of light before you cook rice and bake bread.
The Water Vampire: Desalinate water, plant
watercress, produce sauerkraut and make chewing gum.
The Heat Absorbers: Learn how heat of evaporation
provides cooling, conduct experiments about air humidity, build a
hygrometer and test a refrigerator.
Power Plants: Grow beans, make a potted plant feed a
candle, harvest sunflower energy, build an oil press, and assemble an oil
lamp.
The Energy Converters: Extract electric current from
sunlight and metals in acid, build a light telephone, galvanize a nail and
split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
The Forces of Magnetism: Generate electric current
with magnetic fields. Build a current indicator, electric and solar
motors, a transfer switch, and a crane. Lift pencils with the sun and
learn about levers. Build an electric car.
Wings in the Wind: Build a sail car and learn how
wings and sails transform energy. Learn to sail with the wind, by the
wind, and against the wind and examine a mixed energy vehicle.
