Students on a mission for CLP Power's Junior Green Engineers Programme
Primary students learn from CLP Power's Junior Green Engineers Programme what goes into getting electricity to their homes and schools
Students learned about the development of future technology during the visit.The Junior Green Engineers Programme 2014, run by CLP Power Hong Kong, educates Primary Four to Six students about engineering, science and environmental protection, and hopes to arouse their interest in electrical engineering. Students go through four missions, including visits to power plants and nuclear resource centres, as well as workshops to become Junior Green Engineers.
Young Post was invited to join the programme on the fourth and final mission - a visit to the Energy Efficiency Exhibition Centre at CLP's Sham Shui Po Centre, followed by a quick chat with Paul Poon, CLP's managing director.
For better energy efficiency
The mission began with a quick tour around the Energy Efficiency Exhibition Centre to find out how various sectors cut energy consumption in Hong Kong.
With the help of advanced audiovisual technology and demonstrations, the group learned about energy-saving principles and how they are applied in the real world, such as LED lights at home and heat pumps and desiccant dehumidifiers for air conditioners.
The electric car was the star of this section. It is not something we see very often on the roads of Hong Kong. At the end of the mission, one of the teams had a chance to go for a quick ride.
Talk to the boss
After the tour was completed, those who took part got a chance to sit down with Poon and share their experiences while taking part in the Junior Green Engineers Programme.
One of the highlights of the programme was the tour of Castle Peak and Black Point Power Stations during Mission 2, because some of the students didn't even know that there were power plants in Hong Kong.
They were also awed by the sheer size of the electricity-generating facility and giant mountains of coal used in the process.
However, their favourite experience was the Creative Model Making Workshop (Mission 3), because it allowed them to combine the science of making an energy-efficient home with the creative freedom of designing whatever eco-friendly model they wanted.
A simulator that allows visitors to plan and build their own cities was a hot favourite.
After everyone gave their thoughts about the programme, Poon shared his knowledge and wisdom about the industry, and offered some career guidance to the budding engineers.
One tip he gave was the freedom to choose one of many paths of study to help the cause. "To be an engineer at CLP, there is an array of subjects you can study, such as electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and IT engineering, anything that interests you," said Poon.