TOPEKA – Twenty-two teams from 18 schools, including USD 308's Allen Elementary Hutch STEM Blue and Buhler USD 313's High School Cru Winds will travel to Topeka on Saturday with their sights set on winning a state title in the Kansas KidWind Challenge.
To qualify for the event, each team placed first or second in their age division at one of six regional competitions held in February and March.
Saturday's competition will determine the top two teams in each age bracket that will represent Kansas in the National KidWind Challenge in San Antonio, TX.
The state finals will be held at Hotel Topeka at City Center, next door to the Stormont Vail Events Center, beginning at 9 a.m. the event is free and open to the public.
To prepare for the KidWind competition, team members work together to design, build and test a wind turbine using the materials of their choice. Each team’s turbine will be put to the test in a 48" × 48" wind tunnel at a wind speed of approximately 3.5-5 m/s (meters per second). Scoring is based on turbine performance and efficiency, a knowledge quiz, an instant challenge, and a presentation to judges where the team explains its design process.
KidWind is an Energy Education Event from the Kansas Corporation Commission and K-State Engineering Extension made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.