By Anand Holla
In a time when we increasingly brace for sustainable energy solutions, solar energy seems to hold a whole new world of answers. It’s only imperative that we get the kids used to working around our crucial future saviour.
In collaboration with Qatar Museums, a family day at the Fire Station Artist Residence presents the opportunity for a few lucky children to build solar lanterns made out of recycled materials.
The workshop – open for children between the ages of 8 and 12 and their parents – will be held at the Fire Station Artist Residence Doha on March 5. The first session is from 9am to 11am and the second is from 12pm to 1pm. The only hitch is that the maximum number of participants is 20 – and you can book your place by filling the form on shamsgeneration.org
The workshop will be in both Arabic and English languages and the parents get to take home their children’s cool creations.
A solar lantern, also known as solar lamp, is among the most eco-friendly lighting system as it is powered by solar energy. It is made of an LED lamp, solar panels, battery, charge controller and, possibly, also an inverter. A solar lantern operates on electricity from batteries, charged through the use of solar photovoltaic panel. Used as both indoor and outdoor lamps, the solar lantern, during the day, transforms sunlight into electrical energy, which is stored in the rechargeable batteries, and at night, drawing from the stored energy, the LED bulb turns on automatically, gives light, and shuts off in the morning when the sun comes up again.
For a region that basks in an excessive amount of sunshine, not much is known within the region about the use of solar energy and its various applications. Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec) have set up an innovative hands-on solar learning programme called Shams Generation that has been attempting to bridge this knowledge gap and develop the next generation of solar engineers, artists and renewable energy entrepreneurs.
Shams Generation was established by QSTec as an interactive learning programme that combines art, science, reusing and solar energy. In this first stage pilot programme, QSTec provided solar learning kits aimed at various scholastic levels and abilities to Qatar Academy, Awsaj, Qatar Academy Sidra and Doha College.
Teachers attended workshops and were given access to the interactive website that provides online learning tools for teachers based on the three Shams Generation levels of solar learning. These solar kits were distributed to all participating students who then had to draw upon their various skillsets to create innovative solar works of art that combine light, motion and solar energy.
The Shams Generation initiative is based on an interdisciplinary approach to education called STEAM that combines Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics in a unique way that allows many students to thrive and encourages lifelong learning skills. In the recent months, several exhibitions have showcased the success of the Shams Generation’s pilot programmes and also the creativity of the students with hundreds of solar art projects on display to the public.
Dr Khalid K al-Hajri, Chairman and CEO of QSTec, had told the media at one such exhibition last year, “Educating our youth about the use of energy, the protection of environment
and the conservation of our natural resources is of prime importance for the future of our planet.”
QSTec is enabling Qatar to reach a sustainable future by manufacturing and supplying solar energy solutions that are used locally and exported globally. Some of the objectives of Shams Generation are to spread knowledge about solar power within Qatar Student Community, to raise awareness about the reuse and the recycle of daily materials in a creative way, and to implement solution-based thinking.