4th-12th grade students will compete in one of four categories in spring of 2021: Wind, Solar, Hydro, or Efficiency. This virtual event will culminate on April 22 & 23 with student presentations to judges, but will have activities throughout March and April to support and inspire student learning.
Students will choose one category to compete in: Wind, Solar, Hydro, OR Efficiency. Throughout the semester, they will follow the engineering design process to test and improve their project. There will be live virtual events which students can participate in such as a career panel with current professionals and/or researchers in each of the fields, calls with more details on judging criteria, and check-in/support meetings to guide them through the engineering process. See below for more details on each of the categories, and email Colleen to be added to a list for receiving updates.
Student teams must register by April 2nd to be eligible to participate. Team sizes can range from one to four students. Each team must have an adult coach (can be a parent, teacher, club leader, etc), and each adult can coach up to eight teams. Students can participate in 4th through 8th grade teams or 9th through 12th grade teams. Submit one response per team.
In this category of the Clean Energy Olympics, students design and build a model wind turbine. The top five teams will be invited to participate in the virtual national KidWind Competition June 7th-10th. The rules of the national KidWind organization can be found here. The rubric for the state competition (with links to rules and presentation template) can be seen here.
Students will test the power production of their design using one or more fans to simulate wind. In the past, we have used a wind tunnel (left) to test student designs at in-person events. There might be an opportunity to do COVID-conscious testing in April in Anchorage and the Mat-Su, but that will be determined closer to the time. The judging criteria will focus more on the design process and less on power produced.
A separate category within the wind competition is using the White Box simulator. Students just need access to a computer (tablets aren’t supported) with high-speed internet.
Students that enter this challenge need to construct a solar powered device, such as a model house, ferris wheel, phone charging tree, machine, car, etc — as long as it is powered by solar!
All entries will be evaluated on their thoughtful, creative, and resourceful design, innovation and complexity of the circuitry, students’ reflections on the construction process, and what was learned about solar power. The rubric (with links to rules and presentation template) can be seen here.
This category is best suited for communities which have a good solar resource, and tested using an incandescent bulb or outside in March and April when Alaska’s solar resource improves. Solar prizes are sponsored by Matanuska Electric Association (MEA).
In the Hydro challenge, students will build a model hydroelectric system which utilizes a measured flow to produce electricity. Students are encouraged to utilize natural and/or repurposed materials for their design. Students can easily test their systems over a sink at home or at school.
This category is best for students in communities who have a strong hydro resource. A project design guide for the CEO Hydro Kit can be downloaded here. The judging rubric can be seen here. Prizes for this category are sponsored by Alaska Electric Light & Power (AEL&P).
This category is a bit more open-ended with less engineering. Students pick a room or building to do complete energy assessment and make recommendations for improvements. If they are also able to put in place no-cost conservation and efficiency measures, or persuade an adult to implement low-cost measures, they may also measure reduced energy use of the area. The rubric (with links to the checklist and presentation template) can be seen here. Prizes for this category are sponsored by Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC).
Gift cards were awarded for 1st and 2nd place in each category for each grade level. Two of the teams competed in the national KidWind Challenge – you can read about that here. Thank you to our sponsors Matanuska Electric Association (MEA), Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC), and Alaska Electric Light & Power (AEL&P) for providing these prizes!
