What is the Xperience Engineering Challenge?

What is the Xperience Engineering Challenge? Xperience Engineering is a program run by Engineers Ireland for primary schools. The project is divided into 2 categories, 3rd/4th Class and 5th/6th Class. The top 20 projects from each of the categories will be chosen to represent their school at the Xperience Engineering National Final in the Helix in Dublin in June.        This years theme is
Learn more »


What is an Oyster?

What is an Oyster?   The action of the waves moves the device up and down. This action activates the pistons causing high pressured water to be pumped to the shore, through an under water pipeline. Onshore hydro-electric generators convert this high pressure water into electricity. By Shauna, Seán M, Aoife, Carla, Sophie    


What is a Pelamis?

What is a Pelamis?   This Pelamis is a huge “sea snake” in the water. It generates power in the hinged joints that connect its cylindrical tube sections. As the wave move the joints up and down, and side to side, hydraulical rams drive an electrical generator. The electricity is carried to shore via a sub sea cable. In a Pelamis the pistons move
Learn more »


Reading Pals

We started a Reading Buddies programme in our class. We decided to call it Reading Pals because we liked that name better! We have our Reading Pals Time at 11am every day. Mrs. Timoney comes in to help us. In our Reading Pals sessions we read nice books, we share our books and we praise each other. We have fun reading with our partners
Learn more »


6th Class Visit Strandhill Beach

Our visit to Strandhill        On Monday the 21st of March our class went to Strandhill as part of our Steps Xperience Engineering Project. While in Strandhill we took advantage of the big waves and took a few pictures.        To get a close up picture of the waves we had to do stepping stones across a foot deep pool of water. Unfortunately a
Learn more »


Construction in the Classroom

                   Miss Hynes asked the class to bring in things like toilet rolls, plastic bottles and straws to construct a model of a wave energy generator. The choices were a Pelamis or an Oyster. Most people made a Pelamis.                 When everyone had finished making their Oyster or Pelamis, they left them to dry at the back of
Learn more »


An Engineer Visits our Classroom

       Micheál O’ Halloran is a mechanical engineer. He came into our classroom and spoke to us about the engineering that is involved in things like Avatar and Grey’s Anatomy. He told us all about the different engineers that are involved in making a rollercoaster. He explained to us how a Pelamis works. We learned that there is a motor and a generator inside
Learn more »


Xperience Engineering Challenge Group 9

We built an Oyster. It is the same shape as a suitcase. It is a wave energy generator. The top of it moves forwards and backwards in the waves. We hooked up the motor and it finally worked.


Xperience Engineering Challenge Group 8

Our group built an Oyster out of K’Nex for our Steps Xperience Engineering Project. An Oyster is an energy producing product. It moves up and down with the waves. It is set on the seabed close to the shore. We used a motor to get our K’Nex Oyster to move up and down. We had a lot of fun using the K’Nex kits.


Xperience Engineering Challenge Group 7

We made an Oyster. It is an oceanic device that harvests wave energy when the waves push the lid up and down! This moves pistons in and out, spinning a motor that creates energy. The energy then runs through an underwater cable into a power plant that converts it into electricity that is then used to power our homes!