Wind at Work

This week, Girlstart students discussed innovations in renewable energy and built their own turbine systems! After School sessions opened with a conversation about the pros and cons of different energy sources like coal and hydroelectricity, which allowed students to review important vocabulary, including “alternative energy”, “power”, “turbine”, and “work”. After the groups had a solid base of knowledge, they gathered materials to begin constructing their very own wind turbines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using skewers, straws, cork, string, and foam, girls worked together to assemble turbine systems that would produce the greatest energy output possible. In their groups, girls addressed issues such as the number of blades on the turbine, blade angle, and the length of the entire machine. After they finished their turbine system design, the girls tied a cup full of paper clips to the turbine’s body, which would measure the amount of work done. Club leaders used blow dryers to simulate wind, and each group lined up to put their design to the test.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After observing their turbines in action, some students went back to the drawing board to tweak or redesign their turbines and everyone discussed possible improvements. Students identified factors that contributed to turbine efficiency such as the number of blades, the blade angles, and the length of the turbine. By designing, building, testing, and evaluating turbine models, Girlstart students began to think like wind energy engineers!