“If a sail boat is moving towards the right, in which direction is the wind blowing?,” asked Chien Heng Chou, a Taiwan-based science educator, to the eight graders of Sri Prakash Vidyaniketan, Seethamadhara. Every child instantly responded, “In the same direction!” Smiling, Chien responded, “That’s not necessary. If that were true sail boats would move in just one direction.”
Chien is an assistant professor at the Department of Electro-Optical Engineering at Van-Nung University, Taiwan. But whenever his schedule permits, he makes short trips to educate students across the world. Recently, he conducted practical workshops on wind turbine for eighth-grade students at Seethamadhara, Kapuluppada and Pendurthi branches of Sri Prakash Vidyaniketan (SPV).
Chien Heng Chou shows the design of turbine
Over the past two decades, he has visited schools in China, Japan, Russian, Indonesia, Thailand, Latvia and India. In 2012, he met Vasu Prakash, director of SPV, at a conference in Thailandand heinvited Chien to conduct a workshop in Visakhapatnam.
Visiting Visakhapatnam for the third time, Chien said, “It’s important that children learn about science which is up to date .” He conducted several 90-minute sessions for students to explain the importance of a wind turbine’s design and about the working of windmill farms. Chien had brought miniature models of windmills which were connected to a motor and a LED-bulbs. When the spinning blades lit up the bulb for the first time the students gasped inamazement. Chien’s workshops rely on demonstration of projects and share byte-size facts which are easy to remember.
Go greenChien Heng Chou with the students of Sri Prakash SchoolSPEcial Arrangement
M Chanakya from SPV Seethamadhara said, “Wind turbine are designed with twists just like a sail boat’s mainsail to generate the maximum electricity. The most fascinating thing I learnt was how airborne wind turbines can be used for windmills in areas where wind supply is erratic.”
Chien firmly believes that education develops minds that can then solve problems of society. “Students develop an ability to innovate when they go beyond textbooks and start doing practical projects,” he added.