This past weekend, we traveled to the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST jp) to take part in a workshop for elementary students participating in the “Green Power Kids Club” organized by the Think the Earth Institute (jp) with sponsorship by the Green Power project. This program consists of four workshops culminating in presentations by the students at the Tokyo National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.
The second workshop, which took place on January 14th highlighted the practical applications of renewable energy at OIST and in Okinawa through hands-on workshops with researchers at OIST. In addition to the various fields of research and demonstration proceeding at OIST, we were also invited to share Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technology with the students in a 1 hour workshop. To this end, we brought the PICO OTEC mini demonstration model to OIST along with other power component demonstrators so that the students could see OTEC in action. Along with a brief presentation, students learned about various working fluids, the basics of turbines and power generation, and the benefits of having post OTEC deep seawater and surface seawater as a resource for industry.
We were encouraged to see elementary students with such an interest in science and renewable energy, and hope their interest continues to grow through this unique opportunity.
Photos courtesy of OIST, used with permission.