As part of their Unit of Inquiry about “Sharing the Planet”, the Grade 4s were focusing on energy. The questions they were asking were “Where does KAUST’s energy come from?”, “How do we measure energy consumption in the KAUST community?”, and “How is KAUST and Saudi Arabia developing greener sources of energy?”
In addition to their classroom activities, the students visited the University Campus to learn more about the IKAS (Integrated KAUST Automation System) and CERP (Clean Energy Research Platform).
At the IKAS control center, the students learned more about how KAUST harvests energy (using solar panels), and how that energy is converted, used, and re-used. IKAS also monitors and optimizes energy usage across the campus and community. At CERP, the students learned more about the research that is taking place at KAUST, to identify alternative, cleaner energy resources.
These trips really brought to life what the Grade 4s were exploring in the classroom, and allowed them to see some real-world examples of energy research and usage. The students were very excited by what they saw, and came back to school with many questions… and some answers…
Photos of the trip can be found here.