WMA in the Classroom

Windmills have been used for centuries as a means of conver ng wind ener‐ gy into mechanical energy. Most o en for processing grain and genera ng electricity. Wind farms can be seen do ed across the country genera ng large amounts of electricity these days.

Objective: Students learn the effects that wind has on surface area and how a wind turbine transforms wind energy into electrical energy.

Engineering Challenge: Fourth and fi h graders are part of the Wind Energy Research Team and are tasked with improving the current blade design for a California wind energy farm. Teams were assigned to assess and improve the current blade design.

How they did it: A er reviewing current wind turbine designs, students worked in teams to observe the current wind turbine blade design. The wind turbine will be tested in front of a fan running at a constant speed. Using a volt meter, they assessed how well the turbine performed at distances of one foot, three feet and five feet.

The blades were designed by the students, using their own shapes, weights, sizes and materials. Using an exis ng mount, the students’ three‐blade‐on‐ one‐bracket design was a ached to it, either ver cally or horizontally.

Students then a ached the blades to the mount and the STEM advisor a ached them to the motor. The fan was turned on and the blades were then tested.

They recorded energy output with the volt meter and checked whether the bulb turned on. You should have seen their faces ‘light up’ when their de‐ signs worked!