The Science of Wind

Written by GIS 7th Grade

KidWind Challenge

On Wednesday, February 5, 2025, our 7th grade students, along with two employees from Vernier, successfully completed our very first KidWind Challenge. Vernier Science Education, a company located right in our neighborhood, has been an incredible partner. Through a generous grant from YLACES, GIS was able to purchase high-quality tools like wind turbine kits and energy sensors from Vernier, which allowed our students to participate in the energy challenge. Vernier also set up their wind tunnel in the Fox Den for both practice runs and the actual competition. We are looking forward to hosting regional KidWind Challenges together in the coming years. This will allow GIS students to compete with other school teams in the area, fostering even more community collaboration and friendly competition! It was an exciting and educational day, showcasing the power of teamwork and innovation!

What is a KidWind Challenge?

The KidWind Challenge is all about learning and experimenting with windmills to bring the concept of wind energy into classrooms everywhere. It’s a hands-on competition where students work in teams to design and build their own windmills, modifying them to their preferences. Once their creations are complete, students compete in the KidWind Challenge to see whose design generates the most energy and can lift the heaviest weights. As 7th graders, we had the exciting opportunity to compete against one another, testing our wind turbines’ performance and showcasing our innovative designs!

The Experience

Before the competition, we dove into several assignments in science class focused on windmills and wind turbines. We explored different types of windmills, studied which designs are the most efficient, and learned about how much energy they can produce. This knowledge proved invaluable as we moved forward with the competition, helping us decide on the best turbine model for our designs. We started by building the base windmills and then researched various turbine designs. The class was split into three teams: The Windy Wombats, The Sigma Wheel, and the L.K.O. Windmills. Each team made unique choices regarding the number of blades, materials, and blade designs to optimize their wind turbine’s performance. During the competition, we used an app to track the energy produced by each turbine, while also taking part in a weight-lifting contest to see how much weight each turbine could lift. In the end, everyone had an amazing time and learned a lot about the different types of windmills. We’re incredibly thankful to Vernier for providing us with this fantastic opportunity, especially we want to thank Colleen McDaniel and Tom Smith for assisting and supporting our students throughout the competition. 

Students Comments on the KidWind Challenge                            

“I really enjoyed it” - Laura

“I can’t wait to see the results next year” - Kenyon

“I loved the team work that was needed and the kindness of Colleen and Tom” - Brooke

“I loved having creative liberty with designing the windmills” - Orly

“I liked testing different designs to find the ones that worked best” - Daphne

“My favorite part of this experience was the teamwork and the hands on part” - Bryn

Results of the KidWind Challenge           

Electrical Energy:

1st place- The Windy Wombats, 10.72 Joules (J)

2nd place- The Sigma Wheel, .97 J

3rd place- L.K.O. Windmills, .27 J

Weights:

1st place- The Sigma Wheel, 33 washers

2nd place- The Windy Wombats, 19 washer                                             

3rd place- L.K.O. Windmills, 16 washers