Unique Windmill Science Fair Projects | Windmill Experiments
Science class curriculum is usually based on learning science facts, concepts and theories. However, it seems like few curriculum writers focus on applying science concepts to things that matter to kids. If you are a teacher looking for a way to help your students see how renewable energy can be applied to their lives then try these projects that can be found at renewable energy education in the classroom.
Before windmill science fair projects can be completed, you first need to introduce students to the concept of renewable energy, and to the concept of wind power. You will also want to discuss how a windmill works and how it generates power. You can also discuss various applications of the windmill, its history and other windmill facts.
If you have a working windmill in your area, then this is the perfect time for a field trip. It will give you students an opportunity to talk with the owner and see how he uses it as an energy resource. Then you kids can get ideas on how to do energy science fair projects. (By the way, the PicoTurbine Windmill is a perfect science kit to help the children to have a hands-on experience in experimenting with renewable resources.)
After your students are familiar with the workings of a windmill, your next step is to introduce them to questions that need to be answered. These questions need to link windmill power with a problem that students can relate to.
After your students are familiar with the workings of a windmill, your next step is to introduce them to questions that need to be answered. These questions need to link windmill power with a problem that students can relate to.
The first question you can ask your students to solve is to determine if your local weather patterns are right for generating electricity via wind power. This question will require students to conduct outside research. They can talk to people at the local weather observatory, they can look up information about wind velocities online or they can interview a local scientist or meteorologist. You may even want to bring in the local meteorologist from your local TV station as a guest speaker.
The next question that you can ask your students to solve is if wind power is the best alternative energy source for your area. To answer this question your students will need to compare wind energy efficiency and potential energy generation to that offered by solar energy. Other renewable energy sources like ocean energy, hydro energy and geothermal energy can also be examined.
The third question that you can have your students solve is how large of a windmill is required to generated enough energy to power my computer, TV or PlayStation? This question will require students to first calculate how much energy is needed to run the item in the problem, then determine how much power is generated by each size of windmill turbine, and then determine the final answer. This can be a fun weekend project for kids at home as well.
As your students become more familiar with windmills and renewable energy, your questions can become more complicated. For example, you can have them determine if a windmill can produce enough power to run your home on, your school on, your city on and your home on. These problems will require your students to conduct multi-part research. They may need to talk to people at the power company, they may need to enlist the help of the local university or they may even need to talk the state’s department of energy.
In addition to having your students solve problems for fairly straight forward questions, you can also design more abstract problems for your students to work on. To find inspiration for these problems, look for news items related to energy consumption or deficits in your local area or in your state. These kind of extra tough questions can be a great way to inspire a cool science fair projects or extra credit projects.
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