HyAcademy News
HyAcademy News
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All the latest news and updates on the Hydrogen Academy's activities!
All the latest news and updates on the Hydrogen Academy's activities!
Trip to Tyseley Energy Park with Woodrow First School
Trip to Tyseley Energy Park with Woodrow First School
This year, the Hydrogen Academy team has been working with Woodrow First School’s Year 4 pupils to teach them about the uses of green hydrogen. To find out more, we arranged a trip to Tyseley Energy Park so they could see how hydrogen is being used in their area.
The day started with Jon Wood, a chemical engineering outreach from the University of Birmingham, who taught the children about atoms and how hydrogen and oxygen come together to make water. He then conducted an experiment where the children saw bubbles of hydrogen and oxygen being produced in a plastic cup stood on a 9V battery. This experiment showed them how easy it is to produce hydrogen and engaged with the science behind sustainability.
Next, they went on a tour of the Birmingham Energy Innovation Centre, led by Chris Gell, where they saw a real scientist working with hydrogen. They discussed the new innovations scientists are producing here, including developing hydrogen cars. They also saw an area where robotic arms are being trained to do dangerous jobs, such as working with EV batteries.
After lunch, the children braved the weather to see Kevin Kendall’s hydrogen car and learn about the ways that Birmingham is using hydrogen to fuel its public transport. They saw the refuelling station where National Express buses in Birmingham fill up to keep travel sustainable. They also received a tour of National Gas’ hydrogen kitchen, which is the only fully operational hydrogen kitchen in the UK! They ended the day with a quiz created by HyAcademy team member Diyaa which helped them to consolidate their learning and take it with them to use on their sustainable island project.
Many thanks to Tyseley Energy Park, National Gas, Jon Wood, Kevin Kendall, Faye Dowling, Chris Gell and Woodrow First School for making this wonderful trip possible!
The 2nd Annual Sustainability UnConference
The 2nd Annual Sustainability UnConference
In October, the HyAcademy team attended The 2nd Annual Midlands Sustainability UnConference at University College Birmingham. An UnConference is a collaborative space where delegates come together in groups to discuss issues surrounding sustainability and what they can do to protect the environment. At the HyAcademy EU Project stand, the team discussed the HyAcademy project with many attendees who were curious to know more about their work as well as sharing their own ideas and inspirations.
Diyaa said: “It was inspiring to see and be part of such insightful conversations throughout the day, as everyone came together to turn words into action through a shared goal. It’s wonderful just how many people are actively working to make our world a better place”.
Special thanks to Beate Pesian and Harun Rabbani for organising such a smooth and impactful event.
CRST Student Council Conference
In October, Iris and Aaron visited Arrow Vale Secondary School in Redditch to meet the School Ambassadors from across the Central Regions School Trust (CRST) network. CRST brings together 13 schools across the West Midlands - primary, secondary, and sixth forms - creating a powerful community of learners and leaders. Each year, two ambassadors from every school unite to form the CRST School Council, taking on meaningful projects that make a real difference. This year’s focus has been on charity work in partnership with Birmingham Children’s Hospital and civic engagement with a talk by Dan Lloyd from Breezy Tech. Thank you to everyone involved for their dedication and leadership.
Solar Celebration and Green Careers Showcase at Ark Victoria
In September, Aaron and Diyaa attended the Solar Celebration and Green Careers Showcase at Ark Victoria Academy in Birmingham representing Bertz Associates and the Hydrogen Academy. There, Year 10 students learned about the importance of solar energy and how their school is using solar panels to meet its energy demands. Aaron and Diyaa showcased green hydrogen as part of the careers fair, teaching the Year 10 students about how they can use excess solar energy to produce green hydrogen, which can be used in cars, for cooking, to generate heat, plus much more! It was an incredibly inspiring day for not just the Year 10 students, but for Aaron and Diyaa to see young people so engaged with learning about clean energy and its uses.
Woodrow First School Visit and Workshop
In September, the HyAcademy team of Iris, Aaron and Diyaa visited Woodrow First School in Redditch. They arrived as ‘Hydrogen experts’ to help the Year 4 pupils learn about the uses of hydrogen for their sustainable island project, which uses the ‘Mantle of the Expert’ approach where the pupils take on expert roles in a fictional scenario. The team helped the pupils to explore how hydrogen can be used to power their island and inspired them to get creative with their ideas. We hope to use this approach in the future to work with more schools in the HyAcademy.
Thank you to Woodrow First School for your collaboration and hard work!
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