Climate Change Bus at the FredKid Fair in Fredericton.

The Falls Brook Centre Climate Change Bus was on display at the FredKid Fair on Saturday, May 10 th at the Fredericton Exhibition. FredKid is a project of the non-profit organization Healthy Families, Healthy Communities Association. The HFHCA works to make opportunities and resources that connect and empower families available, enabling them make healthy choices for themselves, their communities and the environment.

The arena was full of displays and activities for children and parents including craft booths, stage performances and as already mentioned the interactive Climate Change Bus. “Big Blue” parked beside the main stage, complete with wind turbine and solar array, was a must-see at the fair for the visiting youngsters.

The Climate Change Bus allowed the young visitors of the fair and their parents to learn about the impacts of Climate Change, how we use energy, and how to reduce greenhouse gases through energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy through interactive activities. A favoured activity of the kids was pedaling a bicycle to generate the electricity to power different light bulbs. The pedal-power required to light up each bulb demonstrates how much more power is needed to run an incandescent light bulb compared to a compact fluorescent bulb which produces the same amount of light. The kids also enjoyed the “Energy Experience” activities exploring solar, hydro, and wind power.

As if the bus hadn’t already packed in a lot of learning in a little space the youth excelled at the bilingual true or false test. A little help from Falls Brook facilitator’s Brent Crowhurst and Cheryl Ripley and the sometimes overwhelming terminology that comes with Climate Change and Energy Efficiency was broken down into understandable and fun terms. Biomass, solar power, wind, hydro, efficiency and conservation were each showcased with a visual and written component, some even with a hands-on activity to facilitate all learning types.

All in all, the FredKid Fair was a great success for the Climate Change Bus, with many young visitors eager to learn about renewable energies, energy efficiency and conservation, as well as the impacts of Climate Change. Some kids enjoyed the bus so much that they came back to learn more with up to 10 visits in one day!

For More information check out:

Website of FredKid project.
Healthy Families, Healthy Communities Website
Information on the Climate Change Bus
Falls Brook Centre Energy Experience