KURT FOLEY
K-State Extension, Engineering
Student teams were welcomed to the Kansas Statehouse on the morning of Sept. 15 by Governor Laura Kelly to celebrate their accomplishment as Champions of the World in the KidWind Challenge. The four teams competed in the World KidWind Challenge in May at the University of Wisconsin-Madison against 125 teams from 21 states, as well as Estonia, Taiwan and Thailand.
The winning teams include:
- Mavericks – Allen STEM Magnet School, Hutchinson
- Untied Shoelaces – Prairie Ridge Elementary, Shawnee
- WINders – Nemaha Central Middle School, Seneca
- Burlington Wind Company-Yin Yang - Burlington High School
LINK: Local students win first place at KidWind 2026 World Competition
“The KidWind Challenge is a STEM competition based on foundational engineering principles – an orderly process of collecting, recording, and analyzing all the facts and data in order to arrive at a satisfactory solution to a problem,” says David Carter, director of Engineering Extension. “In addition to engineering, students learn valuable soft skills such as public speaking, teamwork and time management – all skills needed for tomorrow’s workforce.”
Kansas teams competed at and won one of six regional challenges, advancing them to the Kansas State KidWind Challenge. At the statewide event, teams proved themselves against the best teams in Kansas to earn their spot at the World KidWind Challenge.
KidWind teams are tasked with designing and building a wind turbine to be tested for energy output in wind tunnels, delivering a presentation on their turbine to a panel of judges, completing a knowledge quiz and demonstrating their teamwork through an instant challenge. Teams are divided across three age divisions – elementary, middle and high school.
This year was a banner year for the Kansas KidWind Challenge, with a record number of schools, teams and students that participated across all events. It also marks the first time Kansas has had a champion in each of the three age divisions at the World KidWind Challenge.
The Kansas KidWind Challenge is organized by the Kansas Energy Program, or KEP, a program within the Engineering Extension at K-State, with funding provided by the Kansas Corporation Commission Energy Office. Funding from corporate sponsors — Enel Green Power North America, Kansas Electric Cooperatives, ITC Great Plains, NextEra and Vestas, to name a few — helps KEP reimburse schools for mileage and substitute stipends and provide lunch at all the events.Registration for the 2027 Kansas KidWind Challenge season opens on Sept. 29, with regional challenges scheduled for February and the statewide challenge in April. The 2027 World KidWind Challenge will take place in May, with date and location to be determined.