Your kids will love these simple wind energy activities and this DIY anemometer. Also, look at Middle School Hands-on Science : Extreme Winds + Free Minibook and Free Weather Unit Study for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning.
Simple wind energy experiments are super STEM projects for kids of all ages to learn about engineering, problem-solving, alternative forms of power, and so much more.
I have a diy anemometer tutorial for you using simple items you are likely to have around your house already.
Too, I have suggestions for other activities, books, and other resources to help make it a full and wonderfully educational study.
Before you begin you may want to start with a simple explanation of what is wind.
What is wind? Wind is the movement of air that is caused by the uneven heating of the earth by the sun. You can see it or grasp it but you can’t feel it.
Sometimes the wind is violent ripping trees from the ground, sometimes it is gentle as it blows gentle breezes across your face on a hot summer day.
Wind is the largest source of renewable energy in the United States.
We use its energy to sail boats, fly kites, and dry our clothes outside.
Also, we can capture its power and use it as a clean and renewable energy source for many things.
5 Simple Wind Energy Experiments
- The Weather Science: Build a Wind Turbine experiment looks like loads of fun and will really help simplify understanding how wind can be captured and used.
- Preschoolers will love this Wind Tunnel Stem Project and I like that it utilizes everyday objects so there is nothing special to buy.
- Wind Energy STEM Activity: Building your own model Windmill
- DIY Wind Car: Science Lesson & Fine Motor Fun
- This Mass Producing LED Powering Wind Turbines in a Kid’s Workshop is a little more involved than the others and requires more supplies. It is perfect for the older child who needs more challenges.
Also, you’ll want to include some fun resources and books.
Books about Wind Energy
Simple Wind Energy Experiments Books
Your children will learn about the power of wind and possible ways to harness it for work.
This title provides a basic overview of wind and how it forms. Easy-to-read text, labeled photos, and a photo glossary make this title perfect for beginning readers.
Now a Netflix film starring and directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, this is a gripping memoir of survival and perseverance about the heroic young inventor who brought electricity to his Malawian village.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.Retold for a younger audience, this exciting memoir shows how, even in a desperate situation, one boy's brilliant idea can light up the world. Complete with photographs, illustrations, and an epilogue that will bring readers up to date on William's story, this is the perfect edition to read and share with the whole family.
Wind Energy is an inexhaustible and clean source of energy which comes from the wind itself. It constantly replenishes itself and is perfectly usable as a natural source of power. It does not involve any water during its production and produces minimal pollution at the same time. Even after the installation of wind turbines, operating costs are very minimal. The fact that the wind blows all the time without stopping is another plus point of wind energy. Also, since it is naturally renewable, wind energy is eco-friendly.
Did you know that the same wind that messes up your hair can be used to create energy? How exactly do you harness the wind? And what is the effect on the environment? Read this book to find out all about wind energy.
More Hands-on Activities to Learn About the Wind
Next, here are a few more wind activities.
Also, you’ll love this middle school language arts unit The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
As your child reads, he will
- go on rabbit trails of discovery into history, culture, geography, science, and more;
- find ways to learn by experiencing parts of the book through hands-on activities;
- end with a party school to celebrate the ingenuity of the one young boy!
Finally, look at this DIY anemometer so you can measure wind speed.
How to Make a Anemometer
You will need:
- 6 small paper cups
- 2 paper straws
- 1 unsharpened pencil
- Hole punch
- Stick Pin
- Hot glue gun/sticks
- Small rocks, beans, or playdough (weights)
- Fan
First, punch 4 holes in your cup, 1 on each side.
And line them up as closely as you can with pairs across from each other.
We will run straws through them later.
Depending on the size of your hole punch and straws used you need to make the hole larger by overlapping an extra punch or two.
Slip your straws through each direction and center them in the cup.
Use a sharpened pencil or other pointed object to poke a hole in the bottom of the cup large enough for a pencil to fit in.
Slip your pencil, eraser first, through the hole in the bottom of the cup.
Let it rest beneath the intersected straws.
Push your pin through both straws and into the eraser as far as you can.
Now, you want to attach 4 cups to the 4 straw ends.
Be sure to place them all in the same direction.
Add a little hot glue to one side of the cup near the lip, hold it in place until the glue is set, and move on to the next one.
Now put it in the base.
Hot glue the unsharpened end of your pencil into the bottom of the cup and hold until set.
Then add a weight like rocks, beans, or playdough to hold your anemometer down.
You can take your anemometer outside and measure the wind’s speed by counting how many times it goes around in one minute.
If there is no wind, you can set it in front of a little fan indoors and count the rotations.
You can see in this video here that we experimented with different wind speeds by changing the fan speed.
As the cups catch the wind it makes your anemometer rotate.
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