Harnessing the Wind (July 27 – July 31)

Description

Fan your hand in front of your face. Blow on a pinwheel. Whistle. Breathe. Air is essential and thankfully readily available on planet Earth. As air invisibly moves, solid things often also move and breathe, too. In this engaging, hands-on STEM focused week, we will explore the science and power of wind energy by reading The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and building our own functioning windmill models. Inspired by William Kamkwamba’s real-life ingenuity, we will use limited materials to design, test, and improve windmills that convert wind into mechanical energy. We will apply engineering design processes and scientific methods to run trials, modify variables, and optimize our designs to even lift weights! This project-based course emphasizes creativity, teamwork, resilience, and real-world problem solving.

Kelly Lawlor is an English teacher at Diamond.