Elementary

Grade 2 completed a unit about waste and recycling, and this tour of the waste transfer station shows the practical side of learning. It aims to explain what happens to the recyclables after collection from the houses.

During this tour, children get the opportunity to see how waste management service functions, vehicles, and equipment used by the waste industry and downstream waste process e.g., recyclable sorting, compaction, and storage.

Grade 5 went on their first field trip of to Building 4 at the university to deepen our understanding of energy. There we met Professor Gilles Lubineau and his colleagues, who took the students through a number of energy themed experiments, deepening the students' knowledge and understanding of energy.

Grade 5 students enjoyed listening to Ms. Mary May, the Director of Sustainability and the Edible Garden program at TKS. Ms. May spoke to the students about the UN Sustainable Development Goals and how they relate to sustainable energy.

Grade 5 students  listened to an informative presentation about fossil fuels from Professor Hussein Hoteit. They  learned about the technology and innovations that scientists are working on here at KAUST, that allow for the capture and storage of carbon dioxide, so that the burning of fossil fuels becomes less harmful to the environment.

Grade 5 students were today treated to a wonderful presentation by Mr. Luca Polizzi (father of Giorgio in 5MP) who spoke to the students about hydrogen being a sustainable and green energy source for the future.

Students in 5MP listened to solar energy expert, Michael Salvador, give a presentation about solar energy. In his presentation, Michael spoke about the need to move to use renewable energies, how solar energy is harnessed, how photovoltaic cells are made and how they work.

Grade 5 students went in  a great field trip to learn more about photosynthesis and plant energy and an earlier-than-planned dismissal to watch Saudi Arabia play Argentina in the World Cup. We thank the Center of Desert Agriculture for planning all the wonderful demonstrations and their exceptional hospitality.

KAUST university academics and scientists regularly partner with TKS educators to co-develop curriculum content, which enables the school students to be immersed in the exciting research and scientific breakthroughs that KAUST is undertaking, as part of their school curriculum.

Professors and researchers from the Red Sea Research Center have been working with a team from the Elementary school, to develop a range of learning activities and opportunities about life under the water (including coral restoration research that is currently being undertaken at KAUST).  The team kicked off the project by taking a boat trip to the Coral Probiotic Village, which has been developed by Professor Raquel Peixoto and the team at the RSRC, to better understand the Red Sea ecosystem and how this impacts the wellbeing of coral.  You can see how their trip went here. 

Following on from the initial trip, the group then met to start sketching out how the Grade 1-5s could be a part of the important research that is currently taking place in this space.  The plan is to install a large tank in the Elementary school, which simulates the environment of the Coral Probiotic Village, so the young students can undertake their own experiments.  Not only will they be able to apply learning in data gathering and analysis, research methods, and documentation, but they will also be contributing to the wide body of knowledge about the Red Sea ecosystem!

The Grade 4 Sharing the Planet unit develops students’ understanding of how living things adapt to the external conditions of their environments. This unit aligns well with KAUST’s Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), which develops plants that can grow in harsh desert conditions (heat, sand and salt).

The Grade 4 students – with initial help from the CDA scientists, Dongryung Lee and Vanessa Melino, and a Core Labs Lead Scientist, Angelo Gallone – are growing quinoa and barley and applying various treatments to test plant resiliency. Students will track and analyze phenotype data over the coming weeks. Some students will attempt to input collected data into simulation models coded using Scratch.

This project is a great example of how TKS students can benefit from being part of the KAUST community, and the enthusiasm and support of the Center for Desert Agriculture and the KAUST Core Labs to expose students to real-world science and research.

As part of their unit of inquiry about how “exploring structures builds understanding of a place and its past”, the Grade 2s visited the university campus where Alvaro Bennett and Daniel Henderer from the Facilities Management department explained about the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud’s vision that inspired the construction of KAUST.  The students were shown the original architect’s drawings for KAUST and a time lapse video of the university being built.  They then had a tour of parts of the campus where they learned that the design is inspired by the layout of a traditional Saudi town, with an archway leading to an open area with water features and green spaces – where the community could gather.  The learned more about the different materials used in the construction and the design features that help to keep the campus area cool in the hot weather.  Finally, the students got to go into the heart of the campus – Level 0 – where they discovered that the university has a labyrinth of corridors underground that connect the whole campus area.

Grade 5 students celebrated World Food Day and collaborated with the plant scientists in the Center for Desert Agriculture to be ‘food heroes’. The project kicked off with Professor Mark Tester talking to the Grade 5 students about the need to grow food locally as a way to reduce our carbon footprint. With the support of the KAUST’s Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), the students planted seeds and are monitoring their growth. 

The students also visited the CDA labs and greenhouses, where they learnt more about the amazing innovations and research that the KAUST scientists are working on. They observed some experiments and learned how to extract a plant’s DNA. They all received a gift of a plant to grow and care for at home.

Grade 5 students were out and about again when they visited the Al-Naimi Petroleum Engineering Research Center (ANPERC) as part of the ‘How The World Works’ unit of inquiry. Professor Hussein Hoteit hosted the group and they learnt about the history of fossil fuels, how they form, the technologies used to discover and produce them, their value and environmental footprint, and the search for alternative sustainable sources.

During the tour, the students watched some amazing demonstrations and learnt more about the research and innovation that is taking place at KAUST relating to fossil fuels.

Michele De Bastiani and Michael Salvador, research scientists from the KAUST Solar Center met with the students to talk about how solar cells work, the impact that carbon emissions have on the planet, and why everyone needs to play their part in reducing carbon emissions. The students made their own solar collectors and conducted a solar energy experiment with water left outside for 30 minutes.

The Head of KAUST’s Sustainability team, Dr Ana Costa, delivered a presentation to Grade 5 students about the UN SDGs. Dr Costa talked about the history of the sustainability movement, why the goals have been created, and what we can all do as individuals to take action towards achieving these goals.

As part of the many activities taking place at TKS for World Creativity & Innovation Day, the Grade 5s hosted guest speakers from the Water Desalination Research Center – Professor Matthew McCabe – Professor Matthew McCabe – Director of the Climate & Livability Initiative and Omar Camargo – a PhD student in Environment Science & Engineering. Matthew and Omar brought along ‘Spot’.  Spot is an agile mobile robot that is being used to research the terrain here at KAUST.  TKS students learned about the history and development of this amazing innovation, some of the technical aspects, and how it is being used to support research at KAUST.

As part of the many activities taking place at the university to mark Earth Day, the Water Desalination Research Center (WDRC) opened its doors to host the TKS Grade 5s.  The TKS students learned more about the research taking place and the technologies being used to monitor water in KSA and in seawater desalination.  They saw a number of lab displays and poster presentations and also took part in some activities themselves.  The visit ended with a Kahoot quiz to test how much the students had learned!

Representatives and students from the Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA) spent time at the Kindergarten and worked with the children to create Seed Balls – a fun and creative way to learn about sustainable planting.