YEARS K–6 IDEAS FOR THE CLASSROOM
The Hivve – St Christophers Primary, Holsworthy
By Tony Boyd (Principal, St Christophers Primary, Holsworthy), Dominique Goode (Year 2 Teacher,
St Christophers Primary, Holsworthy), Simon Crook (Founder, CrookED Science)
Sustainability, low energy costs and real world learning are all
tied together in an innovative new portable classroom called the
Hivve. In the press release from ARENA who provide the Hivve they
refer to it this way: “Known as the ‘Hivve’, the portable classroom
incorporates solar PV generation, real time energy metering, CO 2
metering, data capture and communications to actively manage
energy demands and control indoor environment quality.”
However, the Hivve is not just a great piece of infrastructure; it
is also a wonderful learning tool. The school has worked with Dr
Simon Crook, founder of STEM education consultancy CrookED
Science, to develop Science teaching units which utilise the data
collected on the Hivve. This includes energy generation and
usage, temperatures inside and out, and air quality counts. The
students at St Christophers are able to investigate the Hivve’s
performance compared to standard demountable classrooms.
In 2017, St Christophers, Holsworthy faced the prospect of
getting another stock-standard demountable classroom until
the Principal, Tony Boyd, was approached to host a new type of
sustainable portable building. And so the journey began!
Behind the HIVVE classroom, showing some of the technology
The front of the HIVVE classroom at St Christopher's Holsworthy
Students as young as Year 2 are accessing the Hivve as part
as their Science and Technology units. In Term 3, Year 2 are
learning about the Earth’s resources, and will visit the Hivve to
observe and compare the costing of the Hivve versus those of a
standard demountable classroom. They also plan to analyse the
Hivve’s effectiveness at saving money for the school and as being
an environmentally friendly resource. Miss Kristen Tomsen who
teaches Year 2 said, “It was an opportunity for Year 6 students to
become experts in the Hivve as a resource and its sustainability
to then share back with Year 2 in a reciprocal learning task.”
The Hivve is a portable modular classroom designed to meet the
needs of growing schools. However, it goes a number of steps
beyond this. The building is not only made out of sustainably
sourced materials such as plantation wood, but also has a roof
covered in the latest solar panels. These panels, combined with
state of the art insulation, mean that the Hivve looks after all
its own energy needs. In fact, in summer it not only generates
enough energy to power its two efficient heat pump units, but
can power an additional six similar classrooms! In a time of ever
increasing power costs, this is a great saving for any school.
Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Federal
Government have installed monitoring equipment not only in the
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 67 NO 3