This workshop was developed by a team of researchers from the Department of Physics and Materials Science of the University of Luxembourg in the framework of the Energy4Life project.
Discover the workshop and the researchers who created it in this video.

You can find more information about this project on the dedicated e4l website.

Everytime we charge our phone, use the oven or turn on the television, we consume energy, but how can we ensure to always have the energy we need when we need it ? How does our energy demand varies over the course of a day/year ? What factors influence the relevance of a method to fulfill our energy and power needs ?

In this workshop, students learn about power management and energy storage.
They carry out a series of hands-on experiments to discover how basic concepts in physics (such as force, work, energy and power) relate to crucial real-life problematics.

During the activities, students will:

• Discover the principles of pumped hydro storage, excess energy converted to potential energy and converted into electricity when needed,
• Participate in electric car races with aim to compare different powering methods (e.g. solar panels, batteries, capacitors),
• Investigate the most important factors for an efficient storage and consumption of energy,
• Get a glimpse of the challenges inherent to real life management of energy thanks to a board game designed at the Scienteens Lab.

Through this workshop, students will then gain awareness on current and upcoming challenges related to large scale energy & power management and on possible solutions to these challenges.

This half-day workshop is suitable for classes ranging from 3rd to 1st grade (students aged 16 to 19).
It can be combined with other workshops focusing on energy and sustainability.

Prior knowledge on the following topics is beneficial to the participants: Potential energy (from gravity), current, voltage, power in circuits.

How do we go from feelings to facts? How do we test what we think we see? How to follow the scientific method in a natural system?

In this workshop, put numbers to hypotheses by wandering into the woods to discover the different ways of doing research in a forest based around something they are familiar with: the water cycle.

During the workshop, participants will:

• Learn about the scientific method for complex living systems, and going from feelings (hypothesis) to facts (quantification and measurable)
• How the water goes from the roots to the leaves into the air and then back to the soil
• The mechanisms involved in plant water transport, such as capillary force, soil infiltration rate, and more!
• What kind of research is currently done in Luxembourg to improve our understanding of the forests around us

This 3 hour workshop is suitable for classes ranging from 5th to 1st grade (students aged 14 to 19).

Kindly bring your own lunch and be prepared for varying weather conditions.

How much energy do we use? Does our lifestyle affect the amount of energy we need? Could renewable technologies provide for all energy needs in Luxembourg?

During this workshop for adult groups, participants get to search for answers carrying out hands-on experiments. At the end of the day, they will be able to answer these questions through their own investigations.

Participants carry out the following tasks:

• Discussing climate change in Luxembourg,
• Calculating their daily energy need and learning to solve the energy balance problem using the data they generated,
• Comparing their own energy consumption to that of other people and discussing whether Luxembourg could go 100% renewable,
• Assessing the potential of solar, wind, biomass, or human powered technologies.

Please contact scienteens.physics@uni.lu to discuss the organization of your workshop along with the associated cost.

More information on this project can be found on the e4l website.