If you thought building a house powered entirely by renewable sources would be expensive, then think again, as now you can build one for less than $200. There is a catch of course – as the house will only be a few inches high.

The model company Thames & Cosmos produce a range of easy to build kits for children that introduce them to renewable energy and sustainability. The Power House kit for instance, is a model house complete with solar panels, windmill, greenhouse, and desalination system.

Rather than being a set of parts with instructions, however, the Power House kit is organized around the story of a group of island dwellers who must learn to live sustainably using the resources available on their small island. As children read the islanders’ journal entries and learn of their projects and experiments, they build models of the same projects and conduct the same experiments alongside them.

Experiments in the kit, which costs around US$150, include building and operating an electric train, windmill, solar cooker, solar hot water tank, hygrometer, lemon battery, electric motor, sail car, and more. They can also plant watercress, prepare sauerkraut, and make chewing gum and learn how plants convert sunlight into energy in the process.

Other experiment kits available from the company range from simple introductions to science for younger children, up to fairly advanced physics for older teenagers, and many of them feature a sustainability theme. Kits include designing and building a hydrogen fuel cell model car, a volcano and earthquake kit which involves erupting model volcanoes and building a seismograph; a plant kit that helps kids learn how plants germinate and grow and a solar power kit with instructions on how to build solar powered tractors, fans and planes.

While the kits are designed for children they do sound like they’d be fun for adults too – and certainly more entertaining than the science lessons I endured at school.