CSU Powerhouse

Get ready to harness the wind and unleash your inner engineer! Every year, Colorado students dive into KidWind competitions at Colorado State University Energy Institute’s Powerhouse campus crafting their very own wind turbines and flexing their competitive muscles in a lively atmosphere.

KidWind Powerhouse is an all-day competition (typically 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.). During the challenge, teams evaluate their turbines’ energy output in a wind tunnel, present their design and building processes to a panel of judges, and engage in hands-on wind challenges at our 100,000-square-foot research facility

There is no registration cost; we will provide your teams with Vernier Generators to start the design process. Lunch is provided on the day of the Challenge. At CSU Energy Institute, we believe that cost should not keep you from participating. If cost is a barrier, please let us know how we can get your team to the challenge.

Any student in the 4th-12th grade can participate- there are 3 different age level divisions. There is no restriction on team size, but 3 to 5 students per team is recommended. Teams can come from public schools, home schools, after-school clubs or any group of kids interested in wind energy.

Are you worried that wind engineering is not your specialty? Let us connect you with some of our CSU scientists and engineers to help coaches with the technical aspects of the competition!

New this year, based upon registration numbers, schools with more than five teams might be asked to reduce the number of teams they bring- OR better yet we can help run a regional qualifier event at your school!