A total of 33 student teams traveled to Washington DC to compete in the National KidWind Challenge during the USA Science & Engineering Festival
(Washington DC and Saint Paul, MN) April 29, 2014 – KidWind, the international leader of clean energy education, announces the champions of its first-ever National KidWind Challenge which was held on Saturday, April 26, 2014. The event took place during Washington DC’s USA Science & Engineering Festival
The challenge brought together 138 students from across the nation who have a passion for renewable energy and engineering to compete for the championship title in either the middle school or high school divisions and a $1,000 cash grand prize for each division team.
The challenge brought together 138 students from across the nation who have a passion for renewable energy and engineering to compete for the championship title in either the middle school or high school divisions and a $1,000 cash grand prize for each division team.
The winning teams are:
A total of 35 teams competed during the National KidWind Challenge by testing the energy output and design of their handcrafted wind turbines in the high-speed KidWind Wind Tunnel. Wind Surfers and Blade Runners generated the energy outputs of 128 Joules and 153.4 Joules respectively while demonstrating the best contextual knowledge of wind energy and understanding of the engineering and innovation process. Middle school division team Zephyros from Morgan Middle School in Ellensburg, Wash. and high school division team Eagle Engineers from Landstown High School in Virginia Beach, Va. were each awarded a second-place prize of $500 cash and generated 122.9 Joules and 76.7 Joules respectively.
“We have greatly increased the number of students we introduce to wind energy and clean energy engineering by continuing to increase the number of regional challenges we hold and by adding our new KidWind Challenge Online, which allows youth to compete online instead of attending a regional challenge,” said Michael Arquin, Founder of KidWind. “The National KidWind Challenge was the perfect culminating event to a successful season. It gave students a way to express their passion for clean energy through the spirit of competition and the opportunity to win prizes for their achievements.”
Additionally, KidWind awarded two coaches from each division with $500 worth of KidWind equipment and product for best embodying KidWind’s mission of helping students learn and explore wind energy. The selected coaches are:
“The National KidWind Challenge was an awesome celebration of student innovation and experimentation, but the amount of foundational work teachers do to get students to events like this often goes unseen,” said Arquin. “Teachers attend our trainings, learn new content, create and execute complicated lessons plans and give students the space and opportunity to tinker and create in new ways. The effort they put into generating student interest should definitely be rewarded.”
The National KidWind Challenge was made possible through generous contributions from the Wind Energy Foundation, EDP Renewables, Vavuud, Vestas, Harbec, GE Wind and Blattner Energy.
For more information about the KidWind Challenge, visit: http://challenge.kidwind.org.
About USA Science & Engineering Festival
The USA Science & Engineering Festival is a national grassroots effort to advance STEM education and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. Our exhibitors, performers, speakers, partners, sponsors and advisors are a who-is-who of science and engineering in the United States: from major academic centers and leading research institutes and government agencies to cutting-edge high tech companies, museums and community organizations.
About KidWind
KidWind has been the leader of clean energy education for nearly a decade and is guiding the delivery of green STEM education today. In addition to offering its own curriculum, science kits, training, and student competitions, the company partners with leading universities, developers, and museums to plant the seeds for clean energy development. For more information about KidWind, please visit its website at www.kidwind.org.
- Middle School Division – Wind Surfers from DeAnza Academy of Technology and the Arts (DATA) in Ventura, Calif.
- High School Division – Blade Runners from Copley High School in Copley, Ohio.
A total of 35 teams competed during the National KidWind Challenge by testing the energy output and design of their handcrafted wind turbines in the high-speed KidWind Wind Tunnel. Wind Surfers and Blade Runners generated the energy outputs of 128 Joules and 153.4 Joules respectively while demonstrating the best contextual knowledge of wind energy and understanding of the engineering and innovation process. Middle school division team Zephyros from Morgan Middle School in Ellensburg, Wash. and high school division team Eagle Engineers from Landstown High School in Virginia Beach, Va. were each awarded a second-place prize of $500 cash and generated 122.9 Joules and 76.7 Joules respectively.
“We have greatly increased the number of students we introduce to wind energy and clean energy engineering by continuing to increase the number of regional challenges we hold and by adding our new KidWind Challenge Online, which allows youth to compete online instead of attending a regional challenge,” said Michael Arquin, Founder of KidWind. “The National KidWind Challenge was the perfect culminating event to a successful season. It gave students a way to express their passion for clean energy through the spirit of competition and the opportunity to win prizes for their achievements.”
Additionally, KidWind awarded two coaches from each division with $500 worth of KidWind equipment and product for best embodying KidWind’s mission of helping students learn and explore wind energy. The selected coaches are:
- Middle School Division – Pocket Monsters Coach Lynn Shellenberger from Adams Spanish Immersion School in Saint Paul, Minn.
- High School Division – Blades of Glory Coach Chris Freeman from Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, Va.
“The National KidWind Challenge was an awesome celebration of student innovation and experimentation, but the amount of foundational work teachers do to get students to events like this often goes unseen,” said Arquin. “Teachers attend our trainings, learn new content, create and execute complicated lessons plans and give students the space and opportunity to tinker and create in new ways. The effort they put into generating student interest should definitely be rewarded.”
The National KidWind Challenge was made possible through generous contributions from the Wind Energy Foundation, EDP Renewables, Vavuud, Vestas, Harbec, GE Wind and Blattner Energy.
For more information about the KidWind Challenge, visit: http://challenge.kidwind.org.
About USA Science & Engineering Festival
The USA Science & Engineering Festival is a national grassroots effort to advance STEM education and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. Our exhibitors, performers, speakers, partners, sponsors and advisors are a who-is-who of science and engineering in the United States: from major academic centers and leading research institutes and government agencies to cutting-edge high tech companies, museums and community organizations.
About KidWind
KidWind has been the leader of clean energy education for nearly a decade and is guiding the delivery of green STEM education today. In addition to offering its own curriculum, science kits, training, and student competitions, the company partners with leading universities, developers, and museums to plant the seeds for clean energy development. For more information about KidWind, please visit its website at www.kidwind.org.
