EmpowerPlaygrounds

The sun shines on the earth and a banana plant grows in an African village. A child eats a banana for breakfast then goes to the school and plays on a merry-go-round. A generator attached to the merry-go-round converts part of the child’s energy to electricity that is stored in a large battery. An LED lantern is recharged from the large battery and provides light for classrooms and at the child’s home in the village that night. The curious child begins to understand electricity, energy conversion and storage. Will that child become the next Thomas Edison?

Few Ghanaian children attending rural schools have ever had the opportunity to participate in a hands-on science lab. EPI playground equipment serves as a physical learning aid and the basis for a hands-on science lab. This formal science lab taught by the school teachers is based upon the principles at work in the playground equipment. The lab's focus is to teach the children basic science principles through various hands-on demonstrations and stories such as the one above.

EPI is working in conjunction with the Curriculum Development Division of Ghana’s Ministry of Education, the Winneba Teacher Training College in Ghana, and BYU professors to develop the lab.