STEM with 8 yr old - solar etc
Discussion
Hi all,
I’d like to do a solar project with my eight year old for a school fair. Nothing complex - I’d like to use solar to run a motor, maybe pump something, set off a buzzer … that sort of thing.
I’ve got no idea how big a panel I’d need or where the best place is to buy components - or if there is a kit that allows a bit of creativity ..
I’d appreciate any recommendations. Thank you. Austin.
I’d like to do a solar project with my eight year old for a school fair. Nothing complex - I’d like to use solar to run a motor, maybe pump something, set off a buzzer … that sort of thing.
I’ve got no idea how big a panel I’d need or where the best place is to buy components - or if there is a kit that allows a bit of creativity ..
I’d appreciate any recommendations. Thank you. Austin.
Austin_Metro said:
Hi all,
I’d like to do a solar project with my eight year old for a school fair. Nothing complex - I’d like to use solar to run a motor, maybe pump something, set off a buzzer … that sort of thing.
I’ve got no idea how big a panel I’d need or where the best place is to buy components - or if there is a kit that allows a bit of creativity ..
I’d appreciate any recommendations. Thank you. Austin.
https://www.selectsolargadgets.co.uk/cat/69/renewable-energy-experiment-kitsI’d like to do a solar project with my eight year old for a school fair. Nothing complex - I’d like to use solar to run a motor, maybe pump something, set off a buzzer … that sort of thing.
I’ve got no idea how big a panel I’d need or where the best place is to buy components - or if there is a kit that allows a bit of creativity ..
I’d appreciate any recommendations. Thank you. Austin.
https://www.rapidonline.com/sol-expert-80004-solar...
ruggedscotty said:
https://www.selectsolargadgets.co.uk/cat/69/renewa...
https://www.rapidonline.com/sol-expert-80004-solar...
That does look ideal. Much closer to what I had in mind than I found. Thank you. https://www.rapidonline.com/sol-expert-80004-solar...
I saw on some Facebook vid some African guy making a solar panel out of old CD's, copper wire a tea tray , plexiglass. etc etc. (eg. all low cost materials )
Obviously not the first solar project, but maybe something to look at if Junior takes an interest and you want to kick it up a notch.
Obviously not the first solar project, but maybe something to look at if Junior takes an interest and you want to kick it up a notch.
I would think a bit of basic research into panel sizes and so on would be a useful part of the project.
Say you wanted to have a solar panel recharging a torch. Or a mobile phone.
How many watt hours a day would you need?
If you work on getting an average of an hour a day sunlight in winter you won't be wildly wrong.
Beware of really cheap panels on ebay which claim to be a lot more watts than they deliver.
I have some solar powered stuff, lights, pumps for greenhouse watering, charging 12V batteries to run the fridge on my boat.
Some 8 year olds would probably understand most of that?
I'm not so familiar with primary science curriculum right now, but measuring amps and volts and very basic circuit theory ought to be OK?
Say you wanted to have a solar panel recharging a torch. Or a mobile phone.
How many watt hours a day would you need?
If you work on getting an average of an hour a day sunlight in winter you won't be wildly wrong.
Beware of really cheap panels on ebay which claim to be a lot more watts than they deliver.
I have some solar powered stuff, lights, pumps for greenhouse watering, charging 12V batteries to run the fridge on my boat.
Some 8 year olds would probably understand most of that?
I'm not so familiar with primary science curriculum right now, but measuring amps and volts and very basic circuit theory ought to be OK?
OutInTheShed said:
I have some solar powered stuff, lights, pumps for greenhouse watering, charging 12V batteries to run the fridge on my boat.
I'd go down this route. In fact, I did. A panel, charge controller, battery to start which will charge a phone then build on that. Increase the array in parallel (and work out why you might choose it over serial), same for creating a battery array. You'll need to do the sums for voltage, current, wattage etc.OutInTheShed said:
I would think a bit of basic research into panel sizes and so on would be a useful part of the project.
Say you wanted to have a solar panel recharging a torch. Or a mobile phone.
How many watt hours a day would you need?
If you work on getting an average of an hour a day sunlight in winter you won't be wildly wrong.
Beware of really cheap panels on ebay which claim to be a lot more watts than they deliver.
I have some solar powered stuff, lights, pumps for greenhouse watering, charging 12V batteries to run the fridge on my boat.
Some 8 year olds would probably understand most of that?
I'm not so familiar with primary science curriculum right now, but measuring amps and volts and very basic circuit theory ought to be OK?
I like this idea a lot. Say you wanted to have a solar panel recharging a torch. Or a mobile phone.
How many watt hours a day would you need?
If you work on getting an average of an hour a day sunlight in winter you won't be wildly wrong.
Beware of really cheap panels on ebay which claim to be a lot more watts than they deliver.
I have some solar powered stuff, lights, pumps for greenhouse watering, charging 12V batteries to run the fridge on my boat.
Some 8 year olds would probably understand most of that?
I'm not so familiar with primary science curriculum right now, but measuring amps and volts and very basic circuit theory ought to be OK?
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