Grab one or more of these ideas below for a windmill project for kids as part of wind power or a renewable energy unit. Also, for more meteorology ideas look at my Free Weather Unit Study for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning and for more earth science ideas look at my Free Earth Science Lapbook.
Renewable energy is energy that is generated from a natural resource.
It can be replenished on a human timescale.
For example, it can be sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat.
However renewable energy sources are constantly being renewed.
Today we are going to focus on windmills.
They are also known as wind turbines. They are tall structures that use the power of the wind to generate electricity.
They are a clean and renewable source of energy, meaning they don’t pollute the air or water like fossil fuels do.
Too, they work by using the force of the wind to turn blades that are attached to a rotor.
The rotor is connected to a generator. It converts the mechanical energy of the spinning blades into electrical energy.
This electricity can then be used to power homes, businesses, and other buildings.
Windmills come in all shapes and sizes.
Some windmills are small enough to fit on a rooftop, while others are as tall as skyscrapers.
The largest windmills in the world have blades that are longer than a football field.
5 WINDMILL PROJECT FOR KIDS BOOKS & RESOURCES
Next, grab these resources and books to learn more about windmills.
Renewable Energy Books & Resources
Grab a few of these resources to add to your unit study about renewable energy or windmills.
When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba's tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season's crops, leaving them with nothing to eat and nothing to sell. William began to explore science books in his village library, looking for a solution. There, he came up with the idea that would change his family's life forever: he could build a windmill. Made out of scrap metal and old bicycle parts, William's windmill brought electricity to his home and helped his family pump the water they needed to farm the land.
Of Dikes and Windmills was written and illustrated by the well known children's writer, Peter Spier. His target audience was young adults. "Of Dikes and Windmills" chronicles Holland's long and often times turbulent relationship with the Sea. Spier has beautiful pen and water color illustrations on nearly every page of the book. There are wonderful illustrations of windmills, canals and the Dutch countryside.
Birds soar on it. It sends autumn leaves skittering across lawns. And we can even harness its power to create electricity. Readers (Grades 3-5) will learn what causes wind, how people have used wind power throughout history, and why wind is becoming one of the leading alternative energy sources for generating electricity.
generator with LED light. Just add a recycled soda bottle.
This heroic tale was inspired by a true story that took place over 500 years ago. It tells of Katje the windmill cat who lives happily with Nico, the miller, in a Dutch village by the sea. But when Nico brings home his new bride, everything changes. Katje is shooed away by Lena as she sweeps the house or when she finds Katje playing with the new baby. Eventually poor Katje leaves her home and moves into the windmill. But when a storm breaks the dike that holds back the sea, Katje performs a feat of extraordinary courage that makes her forever welcome in the house.
For a quick and inexpensive take on how a windmill works we are going to craft a pinwheel windmill from paper and a dowel rod.
Before we get into that fun project let’s look at these facts about windmills and wind energy, as well as choose another windmill activity or two.
7 WINDMILL FACTS FOR KIDS
- The first windmills were used in Persia 2,000 years ago to grind grain and pump the water.
- The largest wind farm in the world is located in China and has over 7,000 windmills.
- Windmills can generate enough electricity to power up a small town.
- During the peak of windmill popularity in the 18th and 19th century, Europe housed around 200 thousand of them.
- Wind turbines are the modern equivalent of windmills but are much more efficient and powerful.
- One of the best things about wind turbines is that they are good for the environment because they don’t produce greenhouse gases.
- Today wind power only accounts for roughly 7.8% of the world’s energy with the majority being used in China.
We are of course focusing on windmills, but I think it’s important to also take a look at other wind energy sources and even devices used for measuring wind speeds.
MORE WINDMILL PROJECT FOR KIDS
- These Dixie Cup Windmills are just precious to craft for little hands aren’t they?
- Here are 5 Simple Wind Energy Activities For Kids & Fun DIY Anemometer to expand your wind studies.
- Learn How to Make a Simple Wind Vane | Fun Wind Activities Middle School.
- Make this traditional Dutch Windmill Printable to see their unique design.
Finally, look how to make this pinwheel windmill.
HOW TO MAKE A PINWHEEL WINDMILL
You will need:
- Double sided Cardstock
- Dowel rod
- Thumb tack
- Scissors
First, you can make your pinwheel windmill any size that you like.
I opted to make it a huge one using 12×12 double sided cardstock to make sure that the bright colors popped on all sides.
Fold your cardstock corner to corner at an angle and press in the crease, repeat in the opposite direction.
Cut up each crease to about 1” from the center, be sure to not cut all the way through.
Fold every other corner inward to the middle, don’t crease, just fold it over gently to form the ‘blades’ of the pinwheel.
Push a pin through all 4 corner points and then through the center of the paper.
Gently tap the push pin into a dowel rod with a small hammer, leaving some space for the pinwheel to move between the pin and wooden dowel.
If your pin sticks out that back just a bit you can cover it with a dab of hot glue for safety.
