Students of the LCPS Middle School from a Stem summer camp that was operated by the LCPS partner Orblynx Academy and concentrated on sustainability had the unique opportunity to participate in the experience on Friday, August 1, on August 1, on August 1, to connect their classroom with real innovations.
The superintendent Aaron Spence, who also took part in the visit, thanked Amazon for the great partner for LCPs, including the support of the Loudoun Education Foundation's moisture program, which LCPS students offers needy LCPS students, and with their support for the thinking Big Space, which offers additional learning in schools.
Dr. Spence referred to the visit of the day and said: “Opportunities like this make it possible for our students to bridge the gap between learning classrooms and practical possibilities after graduation. They begin to see how their passions, the topics that they are most enthusiastic about, can translate into meaningful careers, and the permanent effects.
Before the visit, the students took part in a two -week summer camp in which they learned about sustainable practices, in particular about the transformation and reuse of materials. The goal of the visit in Amazon HQ2 was to bring together the sustainable practices that they learned during the camp with actual sustainability scenarios represented by Amazon.
“Thanks to our partnership with Amazon and the visit to HQ2, the students have linked the learning of the classroom to authentic applications and illustrate real sustainability solutions,” said Ferri Riar, President and CEO of the Orlynx Academy.
During their visit in HQ2, the students learned through a panel discussion with Amazon Sustainability Experts about the sustainable practices that Amazon uses, including the use of cleaned waste water, to cool data centers and materials from technical projects.
The student also had the opportunity to take part in a practical MINT activity. With an electronic tablet and a simple coding program, the student manipulated small robots to record “garbage” or in this case Lego parts. An employee of Amazon explained that similar robots are used in real life to remove garbage from waterways such as Mr. Trash Wheel, a trash can that remove garbage from Baltimores Inner Harbor.
The Amazon HQ2 building itself is also a good example of sustainable construction and design. The students and visitors visit the LCPS employees of the building, which is recognized for lower energy costs as comparable buildings and for the use of local plants in the surrounding gardens and on roofs and terraces.
As a thank you for the visit and the partnership with Amazon, LCPS students and Orblynx donated a bank from Myzel. The students of Belmont Ridge, with the guidance of Orblynx, have worked with mycelical structures with mycelical structures for five years, which exist part of a mushroom. Myzel is a recognized alternative to plastics and is known to be durable and biodegradable. Five LCPS students – Elham Fakhro, Lana Fakhro, Olivia Nugent, Mahsa Riar and Katarina Walordy – created and presented the bank and said it was the result of more than 600 hours of work and commitment. In addition to the bank's craft, which also has repeated metal legs and a handmade bamboo frame, the students painted the bank with milk paint, a natural color made of milk proteins, with a design that worried the unique design of HQ2 a tribute to the unique design of HQ2.
Wilberte Paul Wilberte Paul, who headed the activities of the day, said she was extremely impressed by the bank and was pleased to be part of the continued support of Amazon from LCPS. “We have a very special relationship with the public schools of Loudoun County. We are privileged and have an honor to have her hosts,” she said.