HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Students from Hutchinson STEM Magnet School at Allen are set to compete at the regional KidWind competition.
The competition will be hosted at Hutchinson Community College on Thursday. It will feature students from across South Central Kansas constructing and testing their own wind turbine.
Mandy Putnam, a former 8th grade teacher for USD 308, works for the Engineering Department at Kansas State University, and first shared the opportunity with Allen’s principal, Alma Henry. After registering for KidWind, the teams at Allen partnered with the Kansas Energy Program to receive wind turbines, generators, wind tunnels and other supplies to prepare for the competition.
Teachers Keith Gable and Hannah Schletzbaum have served as coaches for the student teams, working with them over the last three weeks to learn about wind turbines, practice teamwork, and sharpen their public speaking skills.
“The process has been a bit of a whirlwind. KidWind utilizes the engineering design process, which is what we are big on here at Allen, so we are working with the students to use what they do on a daily basis. I’m learning right along with the students. It’s been fascinating to see how creative these kids can be,” said Gable, a 6th grade teacher at Allen.
“First we started out with a base, and we’ve been experimenting with different blades. It’s been fun spending time with my friends and practicing. Our wind turbine was fast enough to power a light bulb! I’m nervous and excited to compete, because they only chose so many kids, and I’m glad that I was one of them,” said Gatlin Loepp, a 4th grade competitor at Allen.
After the regional competition hosted at Hutchinson Community College, students have the opportunity to move on to the state portion of the competition held in Topeka in April. The National KidWind Challenge will be held in San Antonio, Texas in May.