STEM Challenge - Project: Wind and Sky - Create a 21st Century Turbine

Looking for a flexible, multi-day activity that gets your students “doing science?” Every STEM Challenge offers a hands-on, inquiry-based, student-led project designed to allow them to step into the roles of researchers and engineers.

STEM Challenge projects are ideal for use at any time throughout the school year, between units, before breaks, or during afternoons when testing weeks occur.

For teachers, there are presentations and step-by-step guides to facilitate pacing and lesson plans that align with standards. Students utilize the included notebooks to guide them through activities (both individually and in small groups), challenge them to learn new information, and reflect on and apply the information they have learned.

The Challenge:

According to the current literature somewhere between 140,000 and 328,000 birds die each year from collisions with wind turbines. The public is demanding a better solution with this form of energy. As the lead engineer for a major wind turbine manufacturer, you have been challenged to decrease the bird fatalities by 20% with a new windmill design. What is already being done to prevent bird collisions? How can you improve the design? Does every solution have to include changing the basic design of the wind turbine? Can your solution be retrofitted to existing turbines? A prototype needs to be developed and submitted to the CEO for approval. You've wanted to make an impact your entire life. The opportunity is now! Good luck.

What’s in a STEM Challenge?

• a video explaining the engineering challenge and setting the context for the project
• a BIG Question to guide the inquiry
• teacher presentation in PPT (Google-compatible) and Keynote
• a teacher's guide on what the teacher and students should be doing along the way
• student notebook offers
  • questions to provide the students with a framework for their inquiry throughout the entire project
  • opportunities to absorb new information and reflect on ways to use it to complete the challenge
• Using the LAUNCH process, students brainstorm with their peers and reflect on failures and opportunities, with the prospect of sharing their ideas with the world. This holds students accountable, and they will put forth the best effort, knowing that other students could critique the project.
• Each STEM Challenge contains a list of suggested supplies for its project. We were very cautious about choosing inexpensive items, and the supply list is dynamic, allowing for adjustments to individual situations. Suggested supplies include:
  • tape
  • glue
  • scissors
  • popsicle sticks
  • pipe cleaners
  • paper towel or toilet paper tubes
  • brads
  • clay
  • cardboard
  • paper
  • baggies
  • rubber bands
  • toothpicks
  • clothespins
  • index cards

NGSS Standards

Aside from the engineering components of this project, students will be learning about how humans can have a negative impact on the environment.

NGSS: MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4, MS-ESS3-3