Local officials with the KidWind participants are busting at the seams following a compeition in February.
"We are incredibly proud to announce that our Kepley Middle School dominated at the KidWind Regionals in Dodge City," they said in a press release. "We took three teams, and we came home with three wins!"
Placing at the competition were:
1st Place Overall & Judges’ Choice: Team WindWarriors
Bain Anderson
Aubrey Hegwood
2nd Place Overall: Team KMS Pros
Nathalia Castillo
Aulani Garcia
Ellie Mae DeWitt
Valeria Espino
3rd Place Overall: Team The Lion's Roar
Braydon Hennigh
Jaiden Mendez
Parker Ask
What's next for the team?
They are headed to state of course!
They will travel to Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina April 11, to face off against 15 other regional winning teams. If successful there, the road leads to the World Competition in Madison, Wisc., this May!
How can the community support this team?
The students will be selling suckers and other items to raise travel funds. Please support them if you see them!
Officials sent out a "huge thank you" to Ulysses High School Science teacher Jennifer Hegwood for her coaching and support!
What is KidWind?
Student teams work together to design, build and test a wind turbine using the materials of their choice. Each team’s turbine are put to the test in a wind tunnel at a wind speed of approximately 3.5-5 m/s (meters per second). Scoring is based on turbine performance, a knowledge quiz, a presentation to judges where the team explains its design process, and an instant challenge.
Students compete by age categories: 4th – 5th grade, 6th – 8th grade and 9th – 12th grade. The winning teams at regional events advance to the state finals April 11 in Salina. State winners are invited to participate in the World KidWind Challenge in Madison, WI from May 18-21.
“KidWind is a fantastic hands-on opportunity that allows students to tinker and experiment with wind turbine designs. They experience the thrill of scientific discovery as their designs are validated through performance testing, and they hone their public speaking skills as they present their turbine design to a panel of judges,” explained David Carter, Director of the Kansas Energy Program at K-State Engineering Extension.
Kansas KidWind is an energy-related STEM education event from the Kansas Corporation Commission and K-State Engineering Extension made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
More information about KidWind is available at https://www.kcc.ks.gov/energy-education/kidwind.
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