With all of our outdoor classroom buildings, we have put together a comprehensive range of optional extras to allow you to not only “customise” your own product but more importantly, they have all been developed to allow the children to fully participate and engage in the building itself. A lot of these options can also support curriculum activities and are both fun and educational.
The list of options is as per below and please also reference the gallery photos as well:
- Electric pedal dynamo bikes which the children have to pedal in order to create power and to demonstrate how much energy we use daily for the most simple of household appliances in order to give pupils ideas to save energy for a greener future. Some past projects have included using the bikes to power up radio stations, music systems, lighting, water features and mobile phones and laptops.
Please have a look at the below video link which shows this option in action at a school in South London
Pedal Powered Outdoor Classroom
- Planters which either come as our standard design or our unique bed planter in the shape of a children’s bed
- Water butt, downpipe, roof guttering and rainwater irrigation system for harvesting and re-cycling rainwater.
Educational mini wind turbine/solar panel/energy monitoring display and power unit
The Power Mixer is a working, off-grid renewable energy system designed specifically for schools. A wind turbine and solar panel generate electricity, which is fed into the Power Mixer control board and stored within its battery. Clear visual displays allow pupils to see how much energy is being generated by each source, monitor battery storage and explore how electricity is being used.
Live and historical information can also be viewed through a web-based platform, allowing pupils to compare wind and solar performance, identify daily and seasonal trends, create graphs and use real data within science, maths, computing, geography and wider STEM activities.
The renewable electricity can be used to charge or operate suitable equipment, including laptops, tablets and compatible devices. The Power Mixer can be incorporated into an outdoor classroom, Eco Hub, playground or dedicated sustainability area, transforming renewable energy from an abstract subject into something pupils can see, measure, investigate and use.
- Sound Mixer Outdoor Audio System
The Sound Mixer is a robust, weatherproof audio system designed for outdoor classrooms, sensory spaces, playgrounds and performance areas. Connected directly to the Power Mixer, it uses renewable electricity generated by the wind turbine and solar panel to bring music, speech and sound into the school’s outdoor environment.
Authorised staff can connect to the unit’s password-protected Wi-Fi network and upload the school’s chosen MP3 recordings without requiring an internet connection or specialist app. These could include audiobooks, poems, curriculum recordings, pupil compositions, performance music, nature sounds or calming audio for SEND and wellbeing activities.
Simple illuminated controls allow pupils to select and play the available recordings independently, while staff retain control over the content and maximum volume. The Sound Mixer combines renewable energy, outdoor learning, creative play and sensory support within one distinctive, child-friendly system.
- Internal mini dipping pond for monitoring and studying plant life and bio-diversity
- Atrium or a two-tier roof system to allow in lots of natural daylight from above
- Built in storage units below internal benches
- Eco friendly sedum living roof
- Roll-up and roll-down canvas panels to enclose the building against the elements and when not in use
- Solid infill wall panels with option for perspex viewing panels or coloured panels to allow children to view and observe wildlife without being seen and for sensory needs
- Toughened polycarbonate or toughened glass window panels so that you can totally enclose the outdoor classroom from the elements and benefit from all year round use
- Bug boxes and bird boxes to attract bio-diversity
- Wall mounted chalk boards & white boards
- External bench seating to allow children to sit outside the classroom as well as inside
- Trellis panels
- On-screen printing for the canvas roof to allow for the school’s logo or that of a participating sponsor
- Inter-post desks and seats to allow the children to undertake their outdoor classroom work and studies
* Two tier amphitheatre style seating for extra seating and to be used as performance area
- Room dividers with benches, storage units and coat hanging space
- Access ramp with 50% anti-slip grip decking and handrails for ease of access into the classroom for children with special needs
- Recycling bins made from eco friendly & maintenance free recycled plastic to complete the eco school loop
“We are absolutely delighted with our new outdoor classroom and the electric pedal equipment. It allows us to teach the children in a creative manner about renewable energy and we can incorporate some of the items into our science lessons. Plus we are getting the children to undertake physical activity by all the pedalling required to create energy! The Hideout House Company and Electric Pedals have always been very professional in both their approach & the delivery of the final product and I would wholeheartedly recommend them”
Vivienne Luniak, Head, Beulah Junior School
