Capturing the Wind

In the study of wind energy, scholars build a small windmill and observe how it transfers wind into mechanical energy. Learners will make connections to the previous lesson with concepts such as the creation of wind through convection.

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.

Students explore how wind causes soil erosion. Students spread topsoil into a pie pan. Students take turns blowing air over it and record results. Students repeat this experiment including green sponges. In this science instructional...

Students study the basic components of a modern wind machine.  In this investigative lesson students investigate and find out if there are any wind machines in their state, how many and how much power they produce. 

Go on a traveling adventure throughout Australia, Oceana, and Antarctica! This textbook excerpt offers a full unit of study that can easily be supplemented by extra projects or research materials. Learners study maps, read about native...

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...

An impressive animation explains the earth's awe-inspiring auroras. The contributions of high-energy particles from the sun collide with our neutral atmospheric atoms. Explained are the roles of solar wind, plasma, the magnetosphere,...

Students design a way to store wind energy. In this environmental engineering lesson, students discover the various ways in which windmills transform wind energy into usable energy for other things. In small groups, students create a...

Students discover how to capture the speed of wind. In this science activity lesson, students gather materials and follow procedures to create an anemometer to measure wind speed.

Students build a simple wind tunnel and test out 2 glider wing shapes at different angles of attack. They record their observations and results just as engineers do. There also is a "virtual wind tunnel" they can try to test aerodynamic...