Follow the Sun- the ancestors of Maui
We Share Solar Primary Pilot
We are excited to celebrate and share the learnings from the successful We Share Solar Primary Pilot at Homai Primary, South Auckland and their project: “Follow the sun, the adventures of Maui”.
Background to the project
Homai School was awarded a grant by Curious Minds, South Auckland for a Participatory Science Platform project in 2021, however their project finished recently due to COVID lockdowns.
Homai Primary School is in South Auckland's Manurewa neighbourhood and serves children from new entrants - through to Year 6. They are a very diverse, multicultural and inclusive school that caters to the learning and wellbeing of all learners, students, teachers, support staff and whānau.
To address their question "What is solar energy and how can we use it to enhance our local community?", students at Homai School assembled their own "solar suitcases". They also explored how solar energy can be used at school and at home. They named their project ‘Follow the Sun- the ancestors of Maui’.
What Happened?
For the first global primary pilot of We Share Solar, twenty students from Year 4 to 6 had the opportunity to build the solar suitcases while learning that solar power is renewable, can benefit those without access to electricity, and can generate enough energy to charge their phones when pointed at the sun. They discovered that solar energy is important to help tackle climate change.
Our partner, Helios, visited Homai School along with industry experts to share more about the solar industry with students. Helios are a solar project development company, committed to advancing the zero carbon and renewable energy goals of Aotearoa New Zealand. Students were also visited by a Newsroom journalist and cameraperson. They had a great day asking industry experts questions, showing off their solar suitcases and being tv stars…look out for the footage coming soon.
What did people think?
Students enjoyed working together and found the solar programme to be entertaining and fascinating. They enjoyed putting the cases together, turning on the light bulb and most importantly being able to charge their phones or tablets.
One useful learning from the students was that they wished there were more suitcases per class.
There was great feedback from students and the class teacher. Including:
95% of the students would love to do a project like this again.
86% of the students are now more interested in solar energy.
“We really enjoyed constructing the case and problem solving some of the challenges we encountered as a group.”
Feedback from champion Teacher Peter was equally as positive. “I found the project interesting and fun to do with my class. We found COVID challenging, however we overcame and completed the project with a lot of support from everyone. I saw my students engage and collaborate with each other. One of the most enjoyable experiments was connecting the mini solar panels to the mini motor. Observing the students having fun and laughing was amazing to see.
“One of the most enjoyable experiments was connecting the mini solar panels to the mini motor. ”
He aha te mea nui o te ao
What is the most important thing in the world?
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata
It is the people, it is the people, it is the people
Maori proverb - Peter Forsyth, Teacher at Homai Primary
The project funders Curious Minds, South Auckland were wonderfully supportive, especially through the challenges of COVID. They shared this great feedback after visiting the project: “The students, Peter and the Kia Kotahi Ako team have done an amazing job with the project. The benefit of these solar suitcases is they are a teaching resource that can be reused, so other students and teachers can continue this learning in the future. It also provides a springboard for further science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) exploration, as we’ve seen with the EV van idea. This is exactly the longer term impact we like to see at Curious Minds! Thanks again for all your patience and support with this project.” Ying Yang, STEM project manager.
“ It also provides a springboard for further science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) exploration as we’ve seen with the EV van idea. This is exactly the longer term impact we like to see at Curious Minds”
What's next ?
Homai students are now considering ways to combat climate change and are looking into getting a community EV van that could be powered by the solar panels on their school. Students have been writing to EV manufacturers to learn what is available and understand the costs. So far, they have had challenges to find something suitable but this is real learning in action. By asking questions to the industry experts when they visited, they now have more ideas for suitable manufacturers to contact and to a plan to write to their local MP. Kia Kotahi Ako is helping the students with connections to industry and ideas to support student-led action.
We are excited to continue this project in other schools and kura in Kāhui Ako, so watch this space :)
Written by: Te Waiora Wanoa-Sundgren, Kaituitui (Project Coordinator)