Build Your Own Wind Turbine
The wind blows high, the wind blows low, the wind blows round and round… Wind is moving air caused by the uneven heating of the Earth by the sun.
From a light breeze to gale-force gusts, wind contains kinetic energy that when harnessed, can be used as a renewable source of energy!
What you need…
Wooden skewers (enough for the blades plus one more)
Cork
String
Sellotape
Card (or a cardboard box you could cut up)
Cardboard tube
Takeaway coffee cup
Scissors
An object that your wind turbine can lift (We used a tiny basket and a LEGO figure)
What to do…
Decide on the shape of the blades and the amount you want on your wind turbine. You could do a bit of research about this! We made ours about 15cm in length.
Make one and then use it as a template to make the others.
Using the Sellotape attach a skewer to each blade. Photo – Skewer on Blade – Caption: leave about a 3cm overhang on the spike end of the skewer.
Trim the skewer at the top of the blade.
Evenly position the blades around the cork by poking the skewers into it.
Take the additional skewer and poke it into the end of the cork to make the shaft.
Cut the straw and thread it onto the skewer (This makes the axis to allow the shaft to spin freely)
With the tape attach the takeaway cup to the cardboard tube.
At the top of the cardboard tube, tape on the straw (axis).
Cut a length of string and secure it to the end of the skewer (shaft). Wind it around and attach your object to the end of it.
Take your wind turbine outside and watch the wind rotate the blades. As the blades move, the shaft turns, lowering your suspended object.
Hint…
You might need to play around with the positioning of the blades so that they are capturing the wind effectively. Make sure the turbine is sitting securely on the ground so it doesn’t topple over in the wind!
Did you give it a go?
Send us a photo of your wind turbine and you might find your creation featured in a future issue of Upstart magazine… AND win a prize!