Grade school and middle school students from across Central Illinois explored renewable energy sources and the work that goes into designing, building and maintaining those sources at Heartland Community College’s Challenger Learning Center this week.
Close to 75 students ages 10 to 14 took part in the Central Illinois KidWind Renewable Energy Challenge, a competition for students to test their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills by designing, building, and testing their own model wind turbines.
STEM education specialist at Heartland, Bailey Bilyeau, said the competition was advertised to schools within 60 miles of Heartland, and competitors were all there based on their own interest.
Students from Metcalf in Normal, Bement Middle School (Piatt County) and Glendale Elementary (East Peoria) participated in the event, as well as homeschooled students from Normal.
Students were divided into teams to construct their turbines on site. The teams were assisted throughout the process by professionals in the renewable energy industry.
Christopher Miller, an educator in Heartland’s renewable energy program, said he was pleased to see so many students interested in a program like this.
“For a long time it was a challenge and it’s still sort of a challenge to get kids interested in all these really exciting programs. But what’s really eye-opening right now is we’ve got 75 middle school, grade school, junior high students that are all interested in this and whatever shape that takes, their future is just incredible,” Miller said.
Students also toured Heartland’s new Advanced Manufacturing Center and did a challenge involving solar panels.
“I’m jealous of them,” Heartland renewable energy student Ben Dralle said about the opportunity the students have. “When I was a student in middle school and high school, we didn’t talk about renewable energy that much, and for these kids to come in and have competitions based around wind turbine design, I just wish I was there right now. It’s really cool.”
The students didn’t just learn while building their turbines, they had an experience to remember, and something to think about in the future.
“I really like engineering and tinkering around with stuff. This was a really fun project and honestly I don’t care what place I get,” said Nate, a competitor from Metcalf School.
The renewable energy industry is quickly expanding in Central Illinois, according to Dakota Carter, a former Heartland student and site supervisor at the Rail Splitter Wind Farm in Logan and Tazewell counties.
“It’s the fastest-growing job in America right now. I started out as an intern six years ago and I’m managing my own site now. And there doesn’t seem to be any slowing down right now of the renewable energy industry as a whole,” Carter said.
In 2014, wind energy made up just under 5% of all electricity produced in Illinois. That rose to 15% last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
That large shift is along the lines of what Miller expected.
“My own past experiences have led me from working in a factory to teaching foundational things to creating a renewable energy program. I would say that if the past is any indication of the future, it’s going to be a dynamic, exciting change,” Miller said.
The future for KidWind competitions at Heartland looks bright too, Bilyeau said.
“It’s really important to note that this is the first year of this challenge, and I’m so excited to see where this goes,” Bilyeau said. “We have bigger goals for numbers next year and we think as word of mouth gets out, we’ll just double the size and continue going because we never want to have to turn away kids.”
The winners of the competition were invited to a national KidWind challenge later this year.
