Secondary school students across Scotland will now be able to get their hands on an exciting new interactive hands-on science kit focused on the role carbon capture and storage (CCS) can play in helping to meet the future energy challenge.
Young Engineers and Science Clubs Scotland (YESC), a project of The Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI), and Shell have teamed up to bring these educational learning kits to Scottish classrooms.
Last month saw the launch and distribution of the kits across Scottish schools, including Peterhead Academy, where Paul Garnham, Shell UK’s project manager for the proposed Peterhead Carbon Capture and Storage Project, was on hand to see the kits in action.
“The Peterhead CCS project will be the first of its kind in the world and through these kits the young people of Peterhead Academy and across Scotland will have an opportunity to be leaders in their understanding of this vital technology and of the key role it has to play in meeting the world’s energy needs in a cleaner way,” said Garnham.
“Young Engineers and Science Clubs Scotland are doing great work in bringing science and engineering to life for Scotland’s young people and we hope that these kits will provide further inspiration for the next generation of Scottish pioneers in these critical areas of work.”
The kits are free and include all the equipment required to deliver practical, hands-on science experiments. At the Peterhead trial, faculty head of technical, Fiona Loudon, and a team of students quickly got to grips with challenges set.
Schools and clubs will be able to design and build a carbon dioxide storage facility, investigate carbon dioxide storage and monitoring and examine the role CCS plays in the wider global energy challenge.
The kits include comprehensive teaching guides for the club leaders, providing clear and simple instruction to deliver the course.
The whole learning experience takes around six hours of class time to complete and is aimed at students aged 12 to 14.
The kits have been developed by The Scottish Earth Science Education Forum and the University of Edinburgh, in partnership with Shell.
And to show just how relevant the carbon in a box project really is, Shell is leading a proposed project to capture CO2 from gas at Peterhead Power Station.
Subject to securing the necessary support and regulatory approval, the project will capture one million tonnes of this greenhouse gas a year for its 10-year life.
The gas will be transported via pipeline over 100km off the north-east coast to Shell’s empty Goldeneye gas reservoir for permanent storage under the North Sea.
Information on how to apply to receive a kit and on the training workshops can be found here.
