I bet you didn’t know that fruit could power a light bulb! This week, Sparkwell All Saints Primary School discovered how fruit can act as a battery on their visit to the Plymouth EfW.
On Tuesday, year 5 and 6 were accompanied by our Devon County Council Waste Educators to Plymouth Energy from Waste plant. The pupils all got the opportunity to get a VIP tour of the plant, visiting the control room where they experienced the grabber picking up over a tonne of rubbish at a time. In the plant, the pupils had the opportunity to look through a window into the 850 “C kiln where the rubbish burns, did you know that’s as hot as volcanic lava! This heat boils water which produces steam, the steam turns turbines and produces electricity for Plymouth!
Our Waste Educators led an activity where circuits were powered by a fruit battery. Citrus fruits are acidic, their juice reacts with particular metals producing electrons which build up and flow through a circuit. A flow of electrons is technically a current of electricity which has the capacity to power a light bulb- science is amazing, right?!
If you would like to try something similar at your school our Waste Educators are available to book for workshops which fit with the national curriculum. View our full list of workshops here.
Don’t miss out on a FREE visit to our Waste Management facilities, like Plymouth Energy from Waste Plant, book a free tour for up to 30 children here. Try integrating a visit into your teaching, we have lots of teaching resources to help you!
We hope you had a great day with us Sparkwell and remember your 3R’s!
