Renewable Energy Study... Using Up-Scale Grant Funding for Performance Based Learning
Up-Scale Grant in Action
My 6th grade Physical Science classes are learning and experimenting with wind. Wind is a renewable resource the United States and countries throughout the world are using to replace the burning of fossil fuels. By using fewer fossil fuels, countries like the U.S. do not have to rely on materials to produce energy that pollutes the air and harms the environment. Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources that are used faster than nature can replace them and could eventually run.Using funds from a STEM Up-Scale Grant offered by the State of Iowa, the middle school science program has infused a performance based activity through an organization known as KidWind. This grant provided around $1,700 to purchase KidWind materials. Materials from balsa wood to high torque generators were purchased and used by student groups to build wind turbines designed to have as high of an efficiency rate as possible. Eighteen groups of 6th grade students are currently entering their wind turbine data onto the KidWind data base to compete in an on-line competition against other groups all over the world. Students learn about how energy from wind can be change into mechanical energy to turn the blades of a turbine so electrical energy can be stored in a generator. From the generator, the energy is delivered to the multimeter by an electric series circuit so volt and resistant values can be calculated. Using these two values, along with the swept area of the turbine, students are able to calculate the power value in watts and the efficiency of the turbine described in a percentage. The interest level of all the students in this STEM performance based project was amazing!! These projects can be found on the KidWind site at KidWind.org near the end of March. Visit the Slide Show at the top of this article.