The four teams who advanced from the CEO to the National competition represented Alaska spectacularly. The top middle school offshore wind teams at nationals were both from Meadow Lakes, representing American Charter Academy: Inkblot and On Top of The World! Also from American Charter, the 4th-5th grade team AMC Air earned a “Spirit of KidWind” award for their incredible sportsmanship. Team Anuuqa Piniq (which means “wind power” in Yupik) was the fourth Alaska team: they represented Mount Edgecumbe High School and included two students from Quinhagak and Buckland. You can see the full results from the competition here.
Four Alaskan teams competed at the National KidWind Competition last month in San Antonio, Texas. Students brought their wind turbines to test in three different wind tunnels, presented their process and design to a panel of judges, participated in an instant solar challenge, and completed a knowledge test. New this year, students also designed a second wind turbine to test in a wave tank as a simulation for offshore wind!
To be invited to the national competition, Alaska teams first had to compete and place in the top two of their division at the Alaska State Clean Energy Olympics (CEO) organized by REAP. Now in its fourth year, the CEO was a hybrid in-person and virtual engineering design competition for students statewide. With funding from the Office of Naval Research as part of the ARCTIC program, REAP provided materials and travel stipends to teams so that they could offset costs of attending the National KidWind Competition.
The KidWind Challenge has given us the opportunity to encourage students to problem-solve, work together as teams, and experience success in their teamwork, design, and implementation of ideas.
Congratulations to all the teams who participated! If you have questions about the Alaska competition, or how to get involved, you can contact REAP Education Director Colleen Fisk by email.
The Clean Energy Olympics was featured in an Alaska Business Monthly article here and an AVEC Ruralite Article here.