Install Future Spark Bike Power Generators in Your School

• Convert human energy into electrical energy.
• Increase energy awareness within your school.
• Increase student engagement in science.
• Reduce the carbon footprint of your school.

Following persistent inquiries by teachers we have developed a bike-generator system suitable for permanent installation in schools.
We are very excited to be able to offer a more permanent experience in schools that can be fully integrated into the curriculum.
Students ride bikes mounted in generator units. The generators produce electricity that is fed into the schools 240V mains electricity system. As electricity is generated, so too is data.

Winner Victorian Science & Mathematics Education Excellence Awards 2010 Nth Metro Region as industry partner with Melbourne Girls’ College

The presentation of real-time data is the key that converts experience into learning

The Experience

By being able to convert human power into mechanical and then electrical energy, students get a personal, hands-on experience that is unparalleled.

Students gain insight into how much human effort is required to run everyday appliances such as light bulbs, hairdryers, and television screens.

Therefore students develop a deeper understanding of sustainability and the environmental impact of using non-renewable energy sources.

Through the learning process students engage with energy in a fun way, with many of the activities designed to evoke the collaborative spirit of participants.

This system is a truly innovative example of teaching for sustainability that encourages students to learn about renewable energy, whilst simultaneously reducing their carbon footprint.

Learning Opportunities

Summary of VELS Framework learning opportunities:

• Energy awareness at upper primary and lower secondary.
• Understanding the physical and mathematical relationships between force, power and energy, at middle school levels.
• Relationships between different manifestations of power/ energy as food, muscle, kinetic, electromagnetic, heat and light.
• Renewable Energy at middle school Science, Geography and Chemistry.
• Understanding electricity generation and control physics at the later school levels.

The Outcome

The nature of the technology is very hands-on. This is particularly exciting, as the physical approach makes the activity appealing to a group of students who may not traditionally be enthusiastic about maths and science.

In short, this system will:

increase engagement with science and mathematics and lead to a measurable increase in the selection of these subjects at VCE level;

reduce the CO2 produced by the school by being a catalyst for changing wasteful consumption; and

offset a small but measurable amount of electricity purchased from coal-fired power.

Download a brochure
FutureSpark_Brochure.pdf