Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to design your own transport of the future. What will it look like? How will it be powered? Join Claire, David, Carla and Ruairi in getting creative – you’ll need some pens, pencils and paper to draw your idea, or some recycling or craft supplies if you’re going to make a model.
In this activity you will create a brand-new type of transport that uses renewable energy instead of fossil fuels that are harmful to our planet when burned.
What you will need :
- Paper
- Colouring pens or pencils
What to do :
1. First we need to plan our design and make sure it meets its purpose by thinking about some important features of our vehicle-
- How many people will it transport? Will this affect how big or small it needs to be?
- How quickly does it need to travel? Does this affect how heavy it can be or what it’s made of?
- Will it move through the air, sea or on land?
2. Next we need to decide how our new vehicle will get its energy to move. Instead of using fossil fuels, that are bad our planet when burned, we’ll use renewable energy. Renewable energy comes from resources on our planet that won’t run out when we use them, like wind or sunlight.
Which type of renewable energy would be best for your vehicle? How will it recharge?
- Solar power, where we use solar panels to create electricity from the sun.
- Wind, that can spin huge turbines to create electricity.
- Water, where the waves and tides move turbines under the sea to make electricity.
- Geothermal energy where steam, made by the hot molten rocks under the surface of our planet, is used to spin a generator which makes electricity. Fun fact – this is the same energy that powers volcanoes when they erupt!
3. Now it’s time draw your brand-new vehicle. Make it as colourful and imaginative as you like. Add notes to your drawing to explain what each part of the vehicle does and why you chose it.
Why not try and make a 3D model of your vehicle using items from the recycling.
From the 17th to 23rd August 2020, Glasgow Science Centre ‘s #GSCAtHome campaign ran a week-long special on Powering The Future, with a series of seven engaging videos on the theme of energy.
Produced in an “at-home” style the videos introduce concepts of energy and provide instructions on how to carry out some simple experiments at home or in the classroom.
- Energy – What’s the big idea?
- Make your own water wheel
- Make your own motor
- Make your own wind turbine
- Future Transport
- Popping Potential
- Invisible Fire Extinguishers
All the videos are presented by Glasgow Science Centre’s team of Science Communicators and are free to view and use in the classroom.
