We

1
Were going to give you some ideas about how to
make a wind turbine. It will generate electricity
from wind made by a fan!
You could try using it outside in the real wind.
Or I could blow on it!
2
We made the tower for the wind turbine out of a
large plastic bottle. The bottle is partly filled
with gravel. Can you think why?
A piece of thick cardboard has been taped on
top to make a platform for the turbine head (or
rotor) to sit on. I made sure the front edge
sticks out further than the bottle so the blades
can turn.
3
Now we can tape the electric motor to the front
of the tower. Make sure it sticks out over the
front of the card, wont you?
But where are the blades?
4
The electric motor is going to be the generator.
It will produce a small amount of electricity.
Look at what to do next to make the blades!
You use corrugated plastic to make the blades,
dowel to join the blades to the wooden hub and a
black pulley wheel and that makes a turbine.
Brilliant!
5
Not bad Superhero, for our first attempt!
Cool. Now what happens?
6
The turbine is just about ready to test. Ive
had to make a few adjustments but its fine
now. Can you see how the crocodile clips fix on
the back of the electric motor?
That looks great!
7
Do you know what this is, Superhero?
Ooh, is it a TV controller? Lets watch cartoons!
No, its a digital voltmeter, for measuring
electrical output.
8
Were ready to test our turbine in front of the
fan. After that, we can try changing the shapes
of our blades and tilting them different ways to
get the best reading on the voltmeter.
What fun! Can I have a go? Please, please.
9
All these different turbine blade shapes were
made at school. Which do you think produced the
most electricity? Why?
Try bending the blades lengthways slightly and
see what happens.
10
Why not cover the plastic bottle with paper and
decorate it? You could make it look like a real
wind turbine tower or like a more colourful
version!
Can you think of a slogan to go with your wind
turbine? Like Winderful, Wonderful Wind Power!
This PowerPoint is based on work by Ian Mitchell,
The Green Egg Company, developed edited by Amie
Andrews for TLCP and Vicky Darrell Ali Ross,
Sundog Energy.