KidWind

It has long been said that to win over the hearts of minds of  adults  in the future you need to educate the children now.

Today, 18 June,sees the commencement of  four days of free training for teachers at Waterford, Ireland, at KidWind workshops. 

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KidWind workshops introduce teachers to the science behind wind energy while giving them the knowledge, skills and resources needed to bring wind energy into their classrooms using standard based activities in an engaging, hands-on manner.

The workshops are aimed at primary and secondary school teachers interested in renewable energy, physics, general science, technical education, engineering, environmental science and mathematics. They will focus in on specific lessons from blade design, basic turbine sys-tem concepts to wildlife impacts, economics and more including;

-Energy concepts—Renewable energy—Wind energy history—Wind turbine technology—Wind farms in Ireland—Power and energy in the wind—Wind energy environmental and economic impacts—Blade and turbine design—Power output—Generators & motors—Experiment – Classroom Projects (build a model turbine using classroom kit)

KidWind is an organisation that began in 2009 in the US,  aimed at engaging students and teachers with the science behind renewable energy, especially windpower. Michael Arquin, the founder/director of the KidWind Project, got the idea for the KidWind Challenge when he was a middle school science teacher.

Joe rand, the organisation’s training and outreach director said:

“Our goal is to build toward a more sustainable future. Students are hearing about renewable energy on their own and they want to know more. Teachers, meanwhile, are struggling to find ways to teach about it. That’s where KidWind  helps. We’re trying to design lesson plans and activities that are engaging and fun for students.”

In the United States the organization also runs a multi-state competition called the KidWind challenge; a student wind-turbine design competition.  Over a period of a few months, students spend time designing and constructing their own wind turbines with the goal of creating a device that is efficient, elegant and highly functional. To accomplish this task and arrive prepared at a Challenge, students must perform research to better understand the science of wind, be analytical about testing protocols, think creatively about solutions to problems and work collaboratively to get their project completed on time.

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Student teams eventually convene at a location and the teams enter a judging process. The judging team is typically made up of professionals from the wind industry.

The challenge will hopefully soon be available to kids in other countries as well as the US. The training of teachers in Ireland that begins today could be the start of that.

(Photos and logo from KidWind)