Metro Voice News Celebrating Faith, Family & Community
Kansas high school and middle school students will compete in the ultimate wind energy learning experience beginning next week.
They have done their homework when it comes to wind power and used that knowledge to build, test and fine-tune their turbines. Now it is time to see how they stack up against the competition. Each team’s turbine will be put to the test in a 48″ × 48″ wind tunnel at a wind speed of approximately 3.5-5 m/s.
Four regional competitions are scheduled. The winning teams from each age group (4-8 and 9-12 grades) will advance to the state finals for a chance to represent Kansas in the national competition in Houston, Texas during the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) conference on May 20-23. Registrations are still being accepted.
The schedule of events appears below.
Region Date Location Time___
Southwest February 7 Dodge City (Village Square Mall) 9 am – 3 pm
Northeast February 14 Manhattan (Unger Complex) 9 am – 3 pm
Southeast March 1 Burlington (Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant) 9 am – 3 pm
Northwest March 7 Oakley (NW Kansas Educational Service Center) 9 am – 3 pm
State Finals March 30 Topeka (Kansas Museum of History) 9 am – 3 pm
Kansas KidWind has been expanded from one event last year to five to make it easier for teams from all regions of the state to participate. This year there are currently 43 teams registered, compared to 17 last year.
In 2018, students showcased their creativity with wind turbines constructed using everything from soda cans to vinyl records. The 2018 team from Oxford Middle School went on to place first in the national KidWind competition in Chicago.
More information about KidWind can be found at https://kansasenergyprogram.org/kidwindchallenge.
