BinDayBuddy home

Teaching picture · energy · about 8 to 11

Moving water, useful electricity

Where does the castle’s electricity come from? Not from the old pipe. From the stream.

A four-step diagram: moving water, pipe, water turbine, generator. Arrows show the water returning to the stream and electricity going to useful jobs. The words are written out below.
The picture shown on the castle’s visitor display in the story The stream at the castle. Open the picture full size, or read its words just below.

The picture in words

  1. Moving water. Stream water flows downhill.
  2. Pipe. The water runs through a pipe. Hugo reused an old one.
  3. Water turbine. The moving water turns the blades.
  4. Generator. The turning makes electricity for useful jobs.

After the turbine, the water goes back into the stream further down. Water and electricity follow separate routes. How much electricity it makes depends on how much water is flowing.

Buddy says: the moving water gives the energy. A reused pipe is a clever way to carry it, but a pipe can’t make power on its own.

Talk about it

  • Which part of the picture has the energy in it?
  • Why does the water have to go back to the stream?
  • Would the turbine turn on a dry summer day?
Hugo’s reused pipe. It carries the water; it doesn’t make the power.

For grown-ups

This is a simple learning picture for a made-up castle. It has no measurements or wiring, and it doesn’t claim one stream could power a whole castle. Never let children go near a working turbine, pipe or fast water.

Source: Energy Saving Trust, hydroelectricity. Facts not yet independently reviewed.