The Power of the Wind Youth Guide
Use this web site to guide your own discovery. Are you interested in wind turbines? How to save energy? How to power a cell phone with your own energy of motion? The beginning of your exploration starts here!
Chapter 1: How Can We Think Like an Engineer?
Throughout the curriculum, there are engineering concepts introduced by Sue Larson, Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering at the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois. Are you interested in pursuing engineering as a career?
Design a house in Phoenix, Arizona that is most efficient in keeping you cool. You can choose different windows, roofs, and directions that the house will face.
Design a Prototype windmill to capture the energy from the wind.
Goldburger to Go! Use your engineering skills to figure out this unique contraption.
Learn how forces and simple machines can work together to create The Compound Machine!
Find out which inventions came first by linking inventions and inventors together in the shortest way possible.
Chapter 2: How Do We Study the Wind?
Follow the instructions in the Youth Guide to make your Tetraflexagon!
Chapter 3: How Do We Use the Wind?
Pinwheel Template with Rotational Symmetry
Plain Pinwheel Template
Triangular Pinwheel Template
Branded Pinwheel Template: 4‑H and 3M
4‑H Pinwheel Template
Swirly Pinwheel Template
Follow Miller, the wind guru and let him how you how wind power works.
View the visual representation of how wind power works.
An interactive learning experience about wind turbines.
Play a quiz game that will help you understand wind energy concepts.
How does a turbine work? View an animation of a turbine in action!
Chapter 4: How Do Geography and Community Influence Wind Power Projects?
Wind Powering America: United States - Wind Resource Maps
Wind Powering America: Illinois - Wind Resource Maps
Dynamic Maps, GIS Data, and Analysis Tools
Installed Wind Power Capacity
View photos of this wind farm in California.
Forest City School's Wind Turbine
Project Locations
Wind Farms Through the Years
Where the Wind Farms Are
Chapter 5: How Does Wind Inspire Creativity and Design?
Community wind projects
View the works of Rembrant and his depiction of windmills.
by Peggy Whitney
by Reynold Weidenaar
Wind Power is clean, friendly and often down right gorgeous. REimaginations is dedicated to providing images and artwork that convey the beauty of renewable energy production.
Theo Jansen has created Strandbeests, a unique "species" that moves by wind power and can "survive" on its own. Check out the videos of his creation.
Energy Games
Play the Storm Smarts game and find items for Pete to bring in his backpack to protect him.
Pretend you are the president of the European Union. You must tackle climate change and stay popular enough with voters to remain in office.
A quiz show game that asks the user questions about solar energy.
Explore how much energy different rooms in your house use.
Games and Activities
Wind Power and Beyond
The Futures Channel: Connecting Learning to the Real World. View a short film on the Wind Business. Learn what it takes to engineer these state-of-the-art wind farms.
Check out this wind and solar powered rotating skyscraper located in Dubai. Every floor rotates 360 degrees every seven days.
Look at how students from Oregon State built a water heater powered by wind!
Check out this phone charger that charges your phone from kinetic energy! Charge your phone while you work out or dance!
Adventures in renewable energy technology.
Get answers to frequently asked questions about wind power.
Build a pizza box solar oven!
Current information about many topics including energy efficiency
Wind Power
The Power of the Wind Facilitator Guide
Throughout The Power of the Wind curriculum, you will guide youth to use the engineering design process to find solutions to problems related to wind power. Youth work on teams to analyze problems and find solutions that balance options and constraints. They test what they’ve made to see how it works, then make adjustments and test further, as necessary. Although designed for groups, this project adapts for individual project work with an adult. Throughout the design process, as an adult facilitator, you will cultivate independence and mastery by guiding and asking questions in a caring environment. The challenges are designed to assist youth to learn by doing and apply findings to local community needs.
As you prepare to lead group activities:
- Read the activity in the youth guide.
- Prepare for a discussion that will generate a large number of ideas.
- If time allows, try the activities yourself before you do them with youth.
Chapter 1: How Can We Think Like an Engineer?
Point out the remarks throughout the youth guide from Sue Larson, Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering and Assistant Dean and Director of the Women and Engineering Program.
The Engineering Design Process
The Engineering Design Process found in the Youth Guide is based upon this Engineering Curriculum Framework developed by the State of Massachusetts. Read more about Science, Engineering, and Technology.
Chapter 2: How Do We Study Wind?
Follow the instructions in the Youth Guide to make your Tetraflexagon!
Guide youth through making and using an anemoment to measure the speed of wind.
Youth can learn about the history of hurricanes and hurricane classification. They can play games, take quizzes, and watch hurricane videos.
Chapter 3: How Do We Use the Wind?
Pinwheel Template with Rotational Symmetry
Plain Pinwheel Template
Triangular Pinwheel Template
Branded Pinwheel Template: 4‑H and 3M
4‑H Pinwheel Template
Swirly Pinwheel Template
Use the maps and tools to encourage youth to explore wind energy resources in the United States. Help them analyze the information they find.
Wind Energy Resource Atlas of the United States
You can use this web site for information and discussion about wind and its causes.
Early History through 1875. Learn about the history of wind power and talk with youth about the developments over time.
The 20th Century marked large scale generation of electricity through the power of the wind.
This encyclopedia is a large, free, on-line resource aimed at providing accurate information on living in harmony with our planet, particularly with regard to green energy and architecture. It is part of The Worlds of David Darling website and is maintained and updated on a full-time daily basis by the astronomer and author David Darling.
Solar Schoolhouse: View this video for the basics on how to use a digital multimeter.
View the visual representation of how wind power works.
How does a turbine work? View an animation of a turbine in action!
This animated resource can be introduced to the youth you are working with. They can explore videos, learn about renewable energies, and think about how to reduce their energy usage.
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Learn about NREL's research and development of renewable fuels and electricity that advance national energy goals to change the way we power our homes, businesses, and cars.
American Wind Energy Association
Windustry promotes progressive renewable energy solutions and empowers communities to develop wind energy as an environmentally sustainable, community-owned asset.
Chapter 4: How Do Geography and Community Influence Wind Power Projects?
The animated map of the United States shows the growth of installed wind capacity between 1999 and 2007.
This resource can be used to explain the cause of wind. Have youth view the Danish Wind Industry's animation to learn about wind and its causes.
This web site has information about individual states, publications, videos, and web resources. Encourage youth to research why some states have more installed wind power capacity than others.
A Resource about The Origin of Wind
Learn more about it here.
Share a video of the Mendota Hills Wind Farm posted on You Tube.
Find statistics, photos, additional links, and more.
Find information about the Wind for Schools Project, where school wind projects are located across the United States, where you can find higher education or continuing education wind programs, teaching materials, and informational resources.
Chapter 5: How Does Wind Inspire Creativity and Design?
View the art of Rembrandt and his depiction of dutch style windmills. Encourage youth to compare modern wind turbine photography to windmill landscapes of the late 1800's.
by Peggy Whitney.
by Reynold Weidenaar.
Theo Jansen has created Strandbeests, a unique "species" that moves by wind power and can survive on its own. Check out the videos of his creation.
Wind Power and Beyond
Pocatello, Idaho installs a school wind turbine
The Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy
Connecting Learning to the Real World. View a short film on the Wind Business. Learn what it takes to engineer these state-of-the-art wind farms.
Wind Powering America: Publications
Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency
The mission of the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project is to promote an energy conscious and educated society by creating effective networks of students, educators, businesses, government, and community leaders to design and deliver objective, multi-sided energy education programs. Find the link to their monthly newsletter, Career Currents, and share the newsletters with youth.
The Future of Energy. The Power and the Glory
GreenLearning designs premier learning resources for Canada's innovative teachers. Help youth participate in their own learning while gaining a more holistic and hopeful understanding of today's complex energy and environmental issues.
from American Wind Energy Association
A new condominium residence in Chicago. They are seeking LEED Certification and plan to utilize many green features to provide stylish homes that reduce residents' carbon footprint. Talk with youth about LEED Certification. What do they think it means? In addition, encourage them to think about the engineering design process as it relates to the development of this new condominium.
Get answers to frequently asked questions about wind power.
New York Times article Jan. 2, 2009.
In New York's Times Square, a billboard powered by wind and solar energy! New York Times article Nov. 14, 2008.
View this short video about an alternative to turbines.
National Geographic: Wind Power
This four-part film shows you exciting ways to interact with the wind while learning basic physics. Each section contains an activity you can do yourself (fly a kite, sail a model sailboat, make a pinwheel) and animations explain the physics behind these real-world activities. The lessons lead to examples of other wind technologies such as hang gliding, sailing, windmills, and wind turbine
Into the Wind Facilitator Guide Sheets
These two page facilitator guide sheets provide support for using the Into the Wind videos with youth with special notes about how they can be used with The Power of the Wind. Each of the four Into the Wind short videos focus on a different topic – kites; hang gliders; sailboats and pinwheels and science concepts about the wind. There is a Facilitator Guide sheet written for each topic.
Facilitator Guide Sheets
The Power of the Wind Grab and Gos
Make an anemometer and use it to measure wind speed.
Design a barometer and explain why and how it works.
Observer evidence of changes in air pressure using a plastic bottle and simple materials.
Design and conduct a scientific investigation to show the causes of air movement.
Design and build a wind vane and use it to show wind direction.
Research issues related to implementing a wind turbine project and present your findings.
Research issues related to implementing a wind turbine project and present your findings.
Become aware of increasing uses of renewable energy sources and create a scavenger hunt game of a photo scrapbook.
The Power of the Wind Training Guide
The Power of the Wind Training Guide is a series of training activities to be conducted with youth development facilitators to increase their knowledge and skills to effectively lead The Power of the Wind curriculum. It provides a wealth of training experiences and resources to engage youth development professionals (e.g. 4‑H agents/educators) in building the capacity of volunteers in using The Power of the Wind Youth and Facilitator Guides.
The training is designed to take place over 10-12 hours during two days to provide extensive time for experiencing curriculum activities, practice and reflection. This combination provides an opportunity to deepen participants’ learning of the content and become familiar with The Power of the Wind curriculum.
The Power of the Wind Training Guide
Activities
Though they were designed and written to be done over two days, each activity may be used to build the knowledge and skills of participants. Click on the activity below and download to determine how and where it might be used.
4‑H Checklist
Curriculum Scavenger Hunt
Designing a Wind Powered Boat
How Does a Pinwheel Use Wind Power?
Examining the Engineering Design Process
Designing a "Better" Pinwheel
Resources, Questions and Action Plan
Closure and Evaluation
Training Modules
Five specific modules have been designed to provide alternatives to the two-day format for those who do not have sufficient time or need to strengthen one aspect of their facilitators' knowledge and skills. There are three 90 minute designs, one three hour and one full day.
Each is hands on, experiential and fully participatory. What they do not provide, that is critical to learning how to implement, is the opportunity to practice actually leading activities. This should be considered as training is being designed.
This training provides an opportunity to experience one of the activities out of The Power of the Wind and become more familiar with how the curriculum is organized to best prepare facilitators to pick it up and use it. (90 minutes)
This training provides a deeper understanding of one a key component of The Power of the Wind – the Engineering Design Process. By experiencing two different activities from the curriculum and discussing how the engineering design process is used, participants become better prepared to work with youth using the process. (90 minute)
This training is on the science process skills and their relation to The Power of the Wind curriculum. Each activity in the curriculum identifies specific 4‑H SET Abilities. By participating in this training, 4‑H facilitators will be able to better understand the 30 SET Abilities in terms of the science process skills, and to analyze The Power of the Wind activities for opportunities for using and development learners' science process skills. (90 minute)
This training provides participants opportunities to learn more about how the guide is organized, experience two curriculum activities and become familiar with the engineering design process and to think through how they will be implementing the curriculum and the support and resources they will need. (3 hours)
This training provides participants time to experience three different activities out of the guide; become familiar with how the guide is organized; focus on both the 4‑H SET Checklist, experiential learning process and the engineering design process as components of effectively leading the curriculum and time to work on an action plan.
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