KidWind Activities

KidWind Activities

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Understanding Electric Power Generation

Students will learn about the environmental, economic and social trade-offs of electrical power generation technologies.
cause-and-effect energy-and-matter patterns hs-ls2-c-ecosystem-dynamics-functioning-and-resilience hs-ps2-a-forces-and-motion hs-ps2-b-types-of-interactions ms-ess3-d-global-climate-change ms-ps3-a-hs-ps3-a-definitions-of-energy ms-ps3-b-hs-ps3-b-conservation-of-energy-and-energy-transfer energy solar wind lesson 10 11 12 6 7 8 9
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What Is the Cost of Inefficiency?

Students will learn about work, energy and power and that using electrical appliances and devices has economic and environmental costs.
cause-and-effect energy-and-matter patterns hs-ps2-a-forces-and-motion hs-ps2-b-types-of-interactions hs-ps3-c-relationship-between-energy-and-forces ms-ets1-a-hs-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems ms-ets1-c-hs-ets1-c-optimizing-the-design-solution ms-ps3-a-hs-ps3-a-definitions-of-energy ms-ps3-b-hs-ps3-b-conservation-of-energy-and-energy-transfer energy lesson 10 11 12 6 7 8 9
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Where Is It Windy?

Students will learn how topography and elevation affect wind speeds and will identify optimal locations for wind farms based on wind speed.
cause-and-effect energy-and-matter patterns hs-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems hs-ets1-b-developing-possible-solutions hs-ps3-b-conservation-of-energy-and-energy-transfer ms-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems ms-ets1-b-developing-possible-solutions ms-ps3-b-conservation-of-energy-and-energy-transfer wind lesson 10 11 12 6 7 8 9
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Can Wind Power Your Classroom?

Students conduct a simple energy audit for the classroom and estimate what size wind turbine could power their classroom under local wind conditions.
energy-and-matter proportion scale-and-quantity hs-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems hs-ps2-a-forces-and-motion hs-ps3-a-definitions-of-energy hs-ps3-c-relationship-between-energy-and-forces ms-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems ms-ps2-a-forces-and-motion ms-ps3-a-definitions-of-energy ms-ps3-c-relationship-between-energy-and-forces energy wind lesson 10 11 12 6 7 8 9
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How Does a Windmill Work?

Students will learn the fundamental parts of a windmill, how different rotor designs affect performance, and how energy is transferred from wind into usable mechanical energy.
cause-and-effect energy-and-matter hs-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems hs-ets1-c-optimizing-the-design-solution hs-ps2-a-forces-and-motion hs-ps2-b-types-of-interactions hs-ps3-c-relationship-between-energy-and-forces ms-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems ms-ets1-c-optimizing-the-design-solution ms-ps2-a-forces-and-motion ms-ps2-b-types-of-interactions ms-ps3-c-relationship-between-energy-and-forces energy wind lesson 10 11 12 6 7 8 9
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Which Blades are Best?

Students will learn through experimentation how different blade designs are more efficient at harnessing the energy of the wind.
cause-and-effect energy-and-matter hs-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems hs-ets1-c-optimizing-the-design-solution hs-ps3-a-definitions-of-energy hs-ps3-c-relationship-between-energy-and-forces ms-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems ms-ets1-c-optimizing-the-design-solution ms-ps3-a-definitions-of-energy ms-ps3-c-relationship-between-energy-and-forces energy wind lesson 10 11 12 6 7 8 9
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How Can I Design Better Blades?

Students will learn how to design and construct different turbine blades to maximize the power output of a wind turbine.
cause-and-effect patterns systems-and-system-models hs-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems hs-ets1-b-developing-possible-solutions hs-ets1-c-optimizing-the-design-solution hs-ps3-c-relationship-between-energy-and-forces ms-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems ms-ets1-b-developing-possible-solutions ms-ets1-c-optimizing-the-design-solution ms-ps3-c-relationship-between-energy-and-forces energy wind lesson 10 11 12 6 7 8 9
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What Is Wind Power’s Risk to Birds?

Students will learn how bird behavior and ecology are related to avian impacts from wind turbines and how scientists study these impacts.
stability-and-change hs-ess2-a-earth-materials-and-systems hs-ess2-c-the-roles-of-water-in-earths-surface-processes hs-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems hs-ets1-b-developing-possible-solutions ms-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems ms-ets1-b-developing-possible-solutions wind lesson 10 11 12 6 7 8 9
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Can We Reduce Risks to Bats?

Students will learn about bat behaviors and propose a wind farm operational plan that could reduce the risk of bat mortality.
patterns stability-and-change hs-ess3-a-natural-resources hs-ess3-c-human-impacts-on-earth-systems hs-ets1-b-developing-possible-solutions hs-ls2-c-ecosystem-dynamics-functioning-and-resilience hs-ls4-d-biodiversity-and-humans ms-ess3-a-natural-resources ms-ess3-c-human-impacts-on-earth-systems ms-ets1-b-developing-possible-solutions ms-ls2-c-ecosystem-dynamics-functioning-and-resilience ms-ls4d-biodiversity-and-humans wind lesson 10 11 12 6 7 8 9
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Firefly

Students will construct and experiment with a mini wind turbine.
cause-and-effect energy-and-matter patterns es-ets1-a-ms-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems es-ets1-b-ms-ets1-b-developing-possible-solutions es-ets1-c-ms-ets1-c-optimizing-the-design-solution es-ps2-a-ms-ps2-a-forces-and-motion es-ps2-b-ms-ps2-b-types-of-interactions es-ps3-a-ms-ps3-a-definitions-of-energy es-ps3-b-ms-ps3-b-conservation-of-energy es-ps3-c-ms-ps3-c-relationship-between-energy-and-forces wind lesson 3 4 5 6 7 8
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MacGyver Windmills

Students are tasked with constructing a simple windmill to lift weights out of basic materials.
cause-and-effect energy-and-matter patterns es-ets1-a-ms-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems es-ets1-b-ms-ets1-b-developing-possible-solutions es-ets1-c-ms-ets1-c-optimizing-the-design-solution es-ps2-a-ms-ps2-a-forces-and-motion es-ps2-b-ms-ps2-b-types-of-interactions es-ps3-a-ms-ps3-a-definitions-of-energy es-ps3-b-ms-ps3-b-conservation-of-energy es-ps3-c-ms-ps3-c-relationship-between-energy-and-forces wind lesson 3 4 5 6 7 8
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Solar Town

Students will construct solar powered structures and explore circuits.
cause-and-effect energy-and-matter engineering influence-of-engineering-science-society-world interdependence-of-science-technology patterns technology es-ets1-a-ms-ets1-a-defining-and-delimiting-engineering-problems es-ets1-b-ms-ets1-b-developing-possible-solutions es-ets1-c-ms-ets1-c-optimizing-the-design-solution es-ps3-a-ms-ps3-a-definitions-of-energy es-ps3-b-ms-ps3-b-conservation-of-energy-and-energy-transfer solar lesson 10 11 12 4 5 6 7 8 9
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