Embedded Files
What is Energy?
What is Energy?
Session 1: Introductions and discussions about KidWind Wind Turbine initiatives and challenges. Review the 2025-2026 rulebook. Assign 1-3 of the Ten Big Questions from the rulebook to each student to research at home with parents. Assign a parent to take pictures during each work session!
Teambuilding and introductory activity. The main objective here is to get them working as a team. Look on the KidWind activities page for solar cork boats and solar fountain activities.
Energy is the ability of a body to work. There are various forms of energy. Some of them are heat energy, light energy, electrical energy, chemical energy, sound energy, mechanical energy, potential energy, kinetic energy, and nuclear energy.
Begin a team journal. Give each student an index card and have them date it and respond to this prompt: What did you learn about energy today that you did not know before? What questions do you have about energy or KidWind? Tape the cards in the journal.
Challenge Details and Kits
Challenge Details and Kits
Session 2:
Use the CASE YouTube Channel to introduce what the challenge is and the rules as well as the resources available to them from CASE (open lab and expert forum). Discuss the electrical grid (Electrical Grid 101).
Then have the students inventory their kit and explain what all the parts are and how they can/will be used to build a solar circuit. If you have a snap circuit kit, you may want to do a few lessons. If you do not have a snap circuit kit, use items from the kit to build simple solar circuit. Refer to the circuit diagram pages in the rulebook. How would you diagram the simple circuits that you make?
Have the students write on their index cards what they learnd about making circuites today. Date them and add the cards to the team journal. Tell your students that in session 3, you will complete a scavenger hunt with the items in the solar kit.
Solar Scavenger Hunt
Solar Scavenger Hunt
Session 3: For this session, give students one solar panel and a multimeter and have them explore different light sources, different distances from the light, and different angles with the main objective of maxing out their panels. Have students measure voltage and current to calculate the wattage of their panels – get to know your panels! Use KidWind’s solar scavenger hunt as a guide. If there is time, have them use 2 solar panels and observe how that changes their voltage and current as they connect them in series versus parallel and go over how solar panels work. Follow this Scavenger Hunt Lesson Plan
Show supporting videos:
How Do Solar Cells Work? (Lesics)
How do solar cells work? (SciToons)
Have your students write on index cards what they learned today about who solar cells work. Date them and add the cards to your team journal.
Build More Solar Circuits
Build More Solar Circuits
Session 4 – Build More Sophisticated Solar Circuits
Now that students know their solar panels, have them explore what they can power with them. Give them two panels and some loads (buzzer, water pump, motor, lights) and have them try to power each one individually. Then have them add (or make and then add) a switch. Then they can advance to more complex circuits where they are powering multiple loads and using multiple switches. If there is time, have them diagram their final circuits – getting practice drawing circuit diagrams. Introduce Solar Schematics. See the rulebook p. 23 for details.
Tinkercad Circuits: Visit Power Up Your Imagination!
Have the students write on index cards what they learned about multiple loads and multiple switches. Date them and add them to the team journal.
Design a Structure
Design a Structure
Session 5- After exploring their solar panels and experimenting with powering loads, brainstorm ideas of what kind of solar structure or device they would like to build for the competition. Spend 15-20 minutes or give this as an assignment. The rest of the session can be used to start designing their structure. Science Buddies has a number of solar projects that will help students understand how solar panels can make things work and may give them an idea about a project that they will want to design and make.
Have the students write on index cards ideas that they have for a solar house project. Date them and add them to the team journal.
Looking at the Data
Looking at the Data
Sessions 6 and 7: Construct your solar house. Follow the directions in the Solar rulebook for size limits and keeping a materials list (pages 10 and 21)
Make sure you are following power limits with solar panels (p. 11)
Make sure each circuit has an emergency on/off switch (p. 13)
Create your wiring diagram and solar schematics (p. 12, pgs. 22-23.
Take pictures, print them off and add them to the team journal.
See this video from CASE on how to create circuit diagrams.
Top Ten Questions
Top Ten Questions
Session 8: As team members continue creating the project and drawing diagrams, other team members choose 1-3 questions to research from the Ten Big Questions found in the KidWind Guidebook (see pages 25-26) in preparationg for the challenge knowledge quiz.
Team Documentation and Oral Practice Sessions
Team Documentation and Oral Practice Sessions
Session 9: The team must prepare their documentation for the KidWind Challenge. Follow the directions in the rulebook pages 9-15 and the solar challenge report form on p. 20.
Add to your report pictures of your team working during the sessions!
Practice Presentations
Practice Presentations
Session 10: Consider inviting family and friends to the team meeting and have the team members present to them. To help you prepare, follow the presentation section in the rulebook on pages 15-16. On page 17 follow how to solar test your project. Make sure you leave time for Q&A. Go over the answers to the Ten Big Questions. You can even play the online Jeopardy game (see the Resources page of this website).
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