Education

Educational Packages for Schools....NEW for this year!

Power Station Tour - approximately 75 minutes

Take a journey of exploration deep inside one of Europe's largest man made caverns to learn how electricity reaches you when you need it most. Have you ever wondered how the electrical appliances we rely on the most in our day to day lives are powered? Or how does the National Grid cope during periods of exceptionally high demand? These questions plus much more are answered as you witness the creation of electricity at Electric Mountain.
Electricity: Pupils will be taught how to recognise appliances that use electricity and how it has changed peoples' lives. Learn how energy is transferred through circuits, heat exchange, food chains etc and how electricity is generated using alternative and varied energy sources.
Environment: Learn about the effect of light, water and heat on plant growth and learn how living things adapt to their environment/habitat. Find out ways in which the environment needs protection sometimes.

Lego Workshops - approximately 60 minutes

These workshops are designed for use by non-specialist teachers of key stage 2 and lower 3. Working in pairs, children of any academic background can build, investigate and learn from the models. The 'Simple & Powered Machines' enables children to work as young scientists, engineers and designers providing them with settings, tools and tasks that promote design technology, science and mathematics.Children are encouraged to involve themselves in real world investigations and problem-solving. They make assumptions and predictions. They design and make models and then observe the behaviour of these models; they reflect and re-design, and then record and present their findings.

Traverse Wall - approximately 60 minutes

A Traverse Wall is climbed horizontally, not vertically. The wall is 8' or 10' high and comes in sections to allow for any desired length. The fun and challenge of a Traverse Wall is making it from one side to the other, rather than to the top. Students are never more than a few feet off the floor as they traverse, or climb across, the wall. Indoor rock climbing is one of the most innovative physical activities today. There's no better way to develop and enhance physical, social and academic skills.

Jitterbugs Workshop – approximately 90 minutes

Pupils are given a Jitterbug Kit and step by step instructions on how to turn the various parts kit into a working model bug which moves by vibrating on the tabletop. The kit contains a plate for the bug's body, legs, a counterbalance wheel, a choice of colourful stickers to personalise the bug, a motor, a battery (school must provide 1 x AA battery per pupil), wires and insulating tube which results in a classroom full of brightly-coloured models jittering and vibrating at the same time. The learning objective is understanding how to make an electrical circuit in a fun way!

Package Cost:

Individual

Power Station Tour £4.35pp – Duration approximately 75 minutes

Lego Workshops £1.50 per pupil – Duration approximately 60 minutes

Traverse Wall £1 per pupil – Duration approximately 60 minutes

Jitterbugs £2.50 per pupil – Duration approximately 90 minutes

Combined

Power Station Tour & Lego Workshop £5 per pupil – Duration approximately 2.5hrs

Tour, Lego & Traverse Wall combined £6 per pupil – Duration approximately 3.5hrs

Tour, Lego, Traverse Wall and Jitterbugs combined £8 per pupil – Duration approximately 5hrs

Tour, Traverse Wall and Jitterbugs combined £6 per pupil – Duration approximately 3.5hrs

Notes - The maximum we can accommodate on each tour bus is 28 people however, should you have more in your group you could always choose one of the above packages which would enable you to split your group accordingly and make the most of your visit to Electric Mountain

The Tour

Located beneath the ancient Elidir Mountain's labyrinth of dark and imposing tunnels, you'll experience one of man's greatest engineering achievements. The tour starts with a sound and vision spectacular at the visitor centre illustrating the role that pumped storage plays in ensuring the country's electricity demands are always met. We then take a bus that descends deep into the mountain taking us to the three main caverns. When it was excavated this cavern was big enough to contain St Paul's Cathedral!