Project Solar House: Experiential Learning for Our Science Students

The Final Product: Solar Houses constructed by our Science Students as part of Experiential Learning
24Dec 2020 by Principal

Despite COVID-19 stealing the limelight in our daily news, climate change is still very much alive in the world’s consciousness. Being a strong contributor to the mitigation of climate change, Solar Power is all the rage as society moves towards greener energy sources.

As we make a global shift away from carbon based energy sources (read Combustion), solar power is the next natural step as it is cleaner and renewable. Solar panels used to be reserved for those with deep pockets but now we see them everywhere, from the apartment rooftop to the cell phone charger.

In our Science lessons, we introduce to our students how solar energy works and get them to work on an individual project to construct a miniature solar house that harnesses solar energy to light up its interior.

A Bit of Theory

Solar panels harness energy from the sun and turn it into electricity. Panels are made of many photovoltaic cells that absorb photons (i.e. light particles). These photons hit a cell and excite the electrons there. The electrons are driven within the cell until they reach an electrode where the electricity is conveyed elsewhere for eventual use.

Assembling the structure for the individual solar house
Half-way there: assembling the structures for the solar houses
Our Science students putting the finishing touches to their solar houses before the houses became functional
Our Science students putting the finishing touches to their solar houses before the houses became functional

“In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.”

Albert Einstein

Lessons Learned

  1. The best laid plan could go wrong. Despite using a “template” for our solar houses, the lights simply could not be powered by the solar panels.
  2. Patience is a virtue. We went back to the drawing board by sitting on the project for a while as we let our creative juices simmer for a viable solution.
  3. Think out of the box. Yes, that sounds cliched but it is fundamental to solving problems that we have never faced before.
  4. Determination is a virtue too. The key to a solution is never to give up trying and experimenting. Simple in words but never easy in practice.

In iMatter, we believe in experiential learning involving experimentation, hands-on work and the use of real world examples to reinforce the content we teach in class and what the students learn in school. If you are keen to let your child join us in our exciting Science journey, sign him up for our various Science Tuition Programmes.

  1. Primary School Science
  2. Lower Secondary School Science
  3. Upper Secondary School Chemistry
  4. Upper Secondary School Physics
  5. JC Chemistry
Contact us for our fees and latest tuition schedule