Students explore how wind transfers energy to rotate a windmill. Using their exploration, they design windmill blinds that produce the maximum amount of energy.
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NGSS Performance Expectations
Summary of Module Activities
Classroom Activity #1 - Science Investigation: Wind Energy Flow
Students investigate the relationship between the amount of weight in a container and the amount of energy needed to lift said
container.
Classroom Activity #2 - Engineering Design: Windmill Engineering
Students apply what they learned in the classroom science investigation to systematically develop and test various windmill blade designs to optimize for lifting the most amount of weight.
MOXI Field Trip - Engineering Design Challenge: Mobiles
Students are challenged to use simple materials to design and build a windmill that maximizes the amount of energy produced from a single air source using model windmill machines.
Classroom Activity #3 - Reflection: Balance Sculpture
Students reflect on the classroom activities and field trip design challenge and use the knowledge they have gained to critically think about where to build a windmill farm when considering habitats of native animals and people, wind directions, and topography.