The 20th lesson in a 21-part series connects the wind data and expectations of a turbine to whether such devices should be built in your area. Scholars begin with estimating the wind potential at school by using long-term climate data...

The U.S. produced enough wind energy in 2015 to power all of the homes in Alaska, California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and...

Who says toys can't be educational? The fourth of five parts in the Solar Updraft Towers unit has scholars create toys that run on solar and wind energy. The devices need to be solar updraft towers that can be placed on a warm surface...

Turn a learning experience into a fun lesson. Future engineers create blades for a wind turbine using card stock. Using a fan, they test how well the blades help the wind turbine turn. The goal is to build blades that are effective...

Let the wind take pupils to a new understanding of renewable energy. The fifth of seven parts in the A Community Powered by Renewable Energy unit has learners investigate wind energy. They find out why wind occurs, learn about windmills...

Plan a panel on public policy. On the first day of lessons, scholars identify local government planners and create questions to ask regarding renewable energy and infrastructure. On the second day, they conduct the panel and learn about...

Determine the best energy generator. Groups play with a photovoltaic cell to determine the variables that affect its energy output. The teams investigate a variable to determine the optimum performance of the solar cell. Pupils compare...

Design the best from the best. Groups work together to come up with the best configuration of different variables that affect a wind turbine. The teams choose from several variables such as the number of blades, the angle of the blades,...

Let the energy blow. Using mostly easily found material such as PVC pipe and fans, pupils build wind turbines. Scholars connect a multimeter to an electric motor to determine the amount of energy generated by their designs. Learners then...

Blow away the competition with a lesson about wind power and turbines. Groups build windmills to test how the size of blades affect the amount of work done. The scholars build a variety of blades and collect data on how each type...

How do engineers turn something that is readily available, like wind, into energy? Scholars create a prototype of a wind turbine and attach it to a motor. They test out their prototypes and decide on their effectiveness. They also...

Discover the power of wind energy. Learners design, build, and test wind blades in a hands-on experiment. They analyze the results to determine if they can make any improvements before gathering as a class to discuss their designs.

Wind power blows non-renewable sources away! Why are there not more wind power plants? Science sleuths track down the reasons behind our limited use of wind energy with a video from NOVA's energy unit. The resource covers the storage and...

Can our energy resources keep up with our ever-growing population? Science scholars learn the basics of energy and Earth's energy resources during an electrifying lesson. The resource combines video clips and an engineering design...

Changing from non-renewable energy to a renewable energy source is quite a challenge—is your class up to the test? Young engineers examine the energy needs of five different cities using an interactive. After determining the best option...

A wind turbine is essentially just a giant pinwheel, right? Individuals first create pinwheels from paper, pins, and pencils. In groups, they model a wind farm along a coast and then test out their designs using an electric fan.

Two is too few, four is too many, but three is just perfect. Individuals watch a Real Engineering video to see why wind turbines typically have three blades. This requires consideration of both cost and speed of blade rotation.

Scientists know wind is a renewable resource, but is it an efficient one? Scholars adjust the propeller diameter on a wind turbine, the wind speed, and the conversion efficiency within range to learn about the efficiency of these...

Discover the effectiveness of wind, water, and steam as energy sources. The hands-on activity has young scientists create a turbine from common materials. After constructing the turbines, they use wind, water, and steam to turn them and...

Non-renewable resources will not last forever, so what are the next steps when it comes to energy? Luckily, renewable energy resources exist to create our electricity. The video explains how wind and water energy can be transferred to...