ShmoopTube

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[Dino and Coop singing]

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You're probably wondering why all of those turbine building materials are sitting right in front of you…

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…and if you didn't even notice them…maybe you should give your eye doctor a call… [Girl looks scared]

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But make it quick, because as soon as you're done, we're making wind turbines! [Girl using her phone]

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[Phone ringing and the doctor is asleep]

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Wow, this is a long call….

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Finally.

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Let's quickly explain exactly why we want you to build a wind turbine.

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And don't worry, it'll be way faster than that call… [Coop dancing with a hat]

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It's because we want you to better understand how the alternative energy source known as

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wind power works!

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Ever see those big windmills out in the middle of a field? [Wind farm]

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Those are wind turbines that use air movement to spin, and all that spinning creates electricity. [Wind turbines turning really fast]

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By building a little turbine of your own, you'll get a glimpse into the life of a wind [Girl holding her own wind turbine made from a carton]

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turbine engineer, whose job is to design the most efficient energy-making wind turbines.

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Pretty cool, huh?

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Okay, back to the fun – and back to our materials.

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So for starters, let's grab your milk carton and your dowel.

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What you're going to do is poke a hole all the way through the carton, about two-thirds [Shmoop milk carton and an X showing where the hole needs to be]

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of the way up.

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[Pointed fingers showing the position of the holes]

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Once you've done that, you're going to stick your dowel right through those two holes.

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Next, you'll put your foam ball on one end of the dowel, like so. [The dowel is stuck through the carton]

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On the other end of the dowel, you'll use the string to tie a small paper cup to it.

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[The string and paper cup are attached to the dowel]

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You'll want to make sure it hangs a few inches from the dowel.

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Easy, breezy right?

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Well…not breezy yet.

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Patience, grasshopper. [Girl dressed in karate gear]

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Next up comes the blades of your turbine.

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Those are the things sticking off the turbine that catch the wind. [Turbine blades highlighted]

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But we're not going to just tell you how to design these.

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Instead, it's up to you to experiment with the design and shape of your blades in order

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to figure out what seems to work best. [Guy with an afro and big safety goggles]

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You should have some craft sticks, index cards, pencils, scissors and glue for this. [The different materials appear]

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And to give you an idea of what it should roughly look like, here's an example – except

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instead of just fastening on the cards like this, you'll want to cut them into a super-effective [Red cross appears over the wrong design]

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wind-catching blade shape.

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Your teacher will show you how to test your turbine's blades to see how successful they are. [Teacher blowing on the blades but they don't move]

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And if you're not happy with your results, then go right back to the drawing board and [Teacher collapses]

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try something new.

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After all, it's called an experiment for a reason: so you can experiment! [Girl hitting herself on the head with a pencil]

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Once you've finished your turbine, only one question will remain:

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What on earth were you talking to your eye doctor about??

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Seriously, that call was a longer call than this video. [Girl still on the phone]

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