Activities
For the students of Nikola Tesla Elementary School in Gračac, these magnificent giants we know as wind turbines are anything but unfamiliar. In fact, the children we spent this Friday with live in the immediate neighbourhood of a renewable energy facility, and they have the opportunity, on a daily basis, to watch how the wind turbines blades slice through the air in perfect harmony, transforming wind power into electricity.
As part of their regular school curriculum, they also learn about renewable energy sources, wind and solar energy. They proudly shared their impressive knowledge with us and enthusiastically embraced the task of reinforcing what they have learned through a practical and innovative robotics workshop.
The workshop was led by an expert team from Zagreb, through a program called ‘Robokacija’, they run a series of engaging robotics workshops for children across Croatia. For this occasion, they designed a special workshop introducing the basic principles of using wind energy. After building their wind turbine models, the students also learned how to measure the electrical output of simple generators and compare the results under different conditions (angle, height, speed).
Although the task was anything but simple, the fifth and eighth‑grade students of Nikola Tesla Elementary School spent two hours practicing patience and fine motor skills while cutting delicate styrofoam; teamwork and trust when the turbine blades didn’t turn out quite the same and the process had to be repeated; as well as creativity and innovation while assembling the parts to ensure the proper blade position and tower height. In the end, to our great delight, all of them successfully completed the task and built their own wind turbine models.
At the end of the workshop, the participants took part in a friendly competition, comparing the power of their newly built wind turbines. This sparked a healthy competitive spirit and added an extra dose of fun, much to the delight of the winning teams.
Although they were already familiar with renewable energy sources and how they’re helping in protection of the environment and our planet by producing clean and green energy, the hands‑on workshop and the creation of their own small wind turbines — along with a presentation on how wind turbines work — brought them even closer to this field and to a method of electricity production that is well known in their region. Together, they concluded that wind turbines are pretty awesome!
This workshop, in which we all enjoyed and learned a lot from one another, is yet another example of our commitment to supporting the development of the local communities in which we operate, as well as a demonstration of our company’s dedication to socially responsible business practices. We are grateful to Nikola Tesla Elementary School in Gračac for their hospitality and look forward to future activities with children and young people through various educational programs, as well as to continue to promote the importance of high‑quality education for youth in Croatia.
