Teaching and learning about wind energy

On an appropriately blustery morning in Kansas City, the short course “Wind Energy for the Science Classroom,” led by Joe Rand of The KidWind Project in St. Paul, MN, supplied participants with background information and sample classroom lessons on the rapidly growing field of wind energy. Joe began with an overview of where the industry and the technology now are in this alternative energy area. About 2% of our energy now comes from wind, and Midwestern states like Minnesota, Kansas, and Michigan are rapidly expanding the manufacture of turbines and equipment to harness this resource. Course participants had the opportunity to then build a turbine using PVC pipe, a crimping hub, multimeter, motor, and other materials from the supplies provided. The unique element of the lesson for students is that they design the turbine’s blades out of everyday materials and then perform various blade-design experiments. Efficient blades are a key part of generating power from a wind turbine, and students learn that it takes thought and time to make good blades that function efficiently.  They can make adjustments to the blades, such as shortening them, changing the pitch, or using fewer blades to improve the performance of their turbines. KidWind has great resources and links on their website that make it easy to incorporate hands-on activities on the science behind wind energy. Perhaps today’s lessons will inspire tomorrow’s engineers and specialists in the burgeoning field of renewable energy.