How many of you have heard of The Children’s University of Manchester?
We’re not aware of any equivalent in Scotland. The purpose of this initiative is for this University to share with the wider community, and particularly primary schools, the excitement of the knowledge created through its pioneering research activities and teaching and learning practices.
Resources include online interactive learning materials for use on whiteboards or PCs; video clips which will bring the University to your desktop; downloadable resources and educational games.
You don’t have to be in Manchester to enjoy its resources. Shetland or Skye or anywhere would be just as good, so long as you have web access.
But there’s more as the Children’s University of Manchester links into the Children’s University (CU) Trust which offers 7 to 14-year-olds (and 5 to 6-year-olds with their families) exciting and innovative learning activities and experiences outside normal school hours.
If you are a child, parent/carer, school or potential partner organisation, you should check it out:
Back to Manchester, where one of the many topics inviting exploration is a section about energy and the environment.
This is led by Ian Cotton (a prof) and Teresa Chilton, who have devised exciting programmes around the following headings;
- Introduction to Energy and the Environment
- What is Energy?
- How do we make Electricity?
- Renewable and Non-Renewable
- Advantages and Disadvantages
- Energy and Global Warming
- Interactive House
- Energy matching pairs
- Energy Word Search
- Energy Jigsaw
Most of the headings are self explanatory but what on earth are “energy matching pairs”?
Click on the website heading and up flips a game designed to deliver facts about energy and the environment such as aeroplanes are responsible for 6% of carbon dioxide emissions in Britain; another says there are enough operating wind turbines in Britain to power one million homes.
The great thing about resources such as Manchester is they’re free to use and there’s some seriously good stuff on them. And they’re just a click away.
Happy hunting.
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