LionLink brings clean energy science to life for Suffolk pupils with new interactive school show
- LionLink recently delivered interactive STEM sessions to four primary schools across Suffolk.
- The new show helped 355 children understand how clean electricity is generated, controlled and transported - including how subsea cables quietly power millions of homes.
National Grid Ventures (NGV), the arm of National Grid responsible for developing and operating LionLink, has completed a new series of primary school activities across Suffolk as an extension of British Science Week.
Developed exclusively for LionLink, the first hybrid electricity interconnector between Great Britain and the Netherlands, the sessions were created to help pupils aged between four and eleven years old understand what the project does and how it works beneath the surface, while building wider awareness of renewable energy across the region.
This year marks the second consecutive year the LionLink team has visited schools in Kelsale, Southwold and Snape, with Yoxford participating for the first time. A total of 355 pupils took part in the sessions that followed a simple, age-appropriate energy journey explaining how renewable energy is generated offshore, transported safely between countries, and delivered to homes across Great Britain.
Through hands‑on demonstrations, pupils explored:
- Wind energy, using airflow experiments to show how offshore turbines generate power.
- Energy control and grid stability, with a visual balancing activity that links to LionLink’s converter stations and High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission systems.
- Solar energy, highlighting the connection between sunlight, wind and the wider renewable‑energy system, reinforced through flash‑paper experiments that brought the concept to life.
- Subsea interconnection, describing electricity as an ‘invisible river of energy’ travelling beneath the North Sea to support up to 2.5 million homes.
- A whole‑school rainbow‑light activity, where every child used diffraction glasses to reveal the hidden colours within white light - a metaphor for understanding unseen energy through science and engineering.
The 40-minute interactive STEM show, themed ‘Currents Unseen’, was delivered in partnership with Mad Science, with sessions led by STEM presenters Dr Dee Enay (Laura Bird) and Prehistoric Paul. Known for their dynamic, theatrical approach to science education, the Mad Science team used immersive demonstrations, visual experiments and humour-driven teaching to help pupils understand the invisible forces behind renewable energy and subsea electricity transmission. Members of the LionLink project team attended the sessions to support Mad Science and answer pupils’ questions about clean energy and the future of electricity.
Alex Marsh, Project Director for LionLink said:
These sessions have been a fantastic opportunity to bring the science behind LionLink to life for young people in Suffolk. It was wonderful to see pupils’ excitement and interest - with many recognising the team from our previous visits. Their enthusiasm, along with the strong encouragement from schools for continued engagement, reinforces why we are committed to being a positive part of the local community.
As LionLink refines its plans following its statutory consultation period which ended on 10 March, the sessions further strengthen relationships with local schools and support wider STEM education across the Suffolk region. For more information on LionLink, please visit: www.nationalgrid.com/national-grid-ventures/lionlink