A force of nature

Fifth graders experienced the awesome power of nature today in downtown Pawtucket.

 

They were visiting the hydroelectric power plant that's one block downriver from Slater Mill. 

 

The tour began at the riverside.

 

The Blackstone River is a familiar sight from Route 95 north of Providence. 

 

Up close, in person, viewed from the sidewalk, it is an entirely different beast.

 

Inside the building, the full power of the river was on display.

 

It was loud.

 

It was hot.

 

It was a little smelly.

 

And everywhere that water flowed, there was a glow could be seen from the next room.

 

Decommissioned machinery was on display throughout the spaces.

 

This trip was building off of a long fifth grade study of wind power, in which students had designed, built and tested a variety of turbines.

 

Peeking inside the old water-powered machines, it was easy to see how the design related to fans and windmills.

 

The tour went beyond hands-on experience to full immersion.

 

They contemplated how high a fifteen foot drop is.

 

They considered how small one square foot is.

 

They watched thousands of volts churning to life.

 

They saw the engineering involved in sustainably powering five hundred households -  a village the size of Gordon.

 

A live feed revealed: Rhode Island was currently getting 11% of its power from hydroelectric.

 

The rest was coming from gas, nuclear and solar. None from coal or oil.

 

Even with all the natural power on display, there was something very human about the workspace, too.

 

Ask yourself: is there someone in your life who would totally love this place, with all these machines and tools?

 

My cousins would love to explore this place.

 

My grandfather, he loves cool old things like they have here.

 

My father-in-law would love this place.

 

My grandmother would really love this place.

 

Me. I love this place.

 

More photos on Gordon's Flickr page

Today's field trip was the next step in an ongoing partnership between Gordon and Gravity Renewables, the company that operates the Pawtucket Hydro Plant, as part of Gordon's efforts to invest in sustainable energy sources. More on that partnership here.