Calais students are learning all about wind power and building wind-powered cars in STEM class with teacher Binal Shah.

The lesson focused on the concepts of mass, force and friction. Mrs. Shah taught the students how to harness the power of wind to make their cars run. “They tried to find out how the size and placement of the sail affected the movement of the car,” she noted.

Before starting the project, the students researched the elements of physics, Mrs. Shah said. “They learned about the different types of energy and discussed alternative fuel sources for cars.”

This led to a discussion on solar power and how energy is harnessed from wind.

 Students used different materials and found the ones that work best. The students used cardboard for the base of the car, bottle caps for the wheels and bamboo skewers for the axle as well as to attach the sails to the car base.

“The students tried different sizes of sails and found that while bigger sails catch more air to exert a bigger push on the car, it might also tip the car if the sail is heavier or too tall for the car,” Mrs. Shah noted.  “Students also learned how wheels and axles work together to make the cars run smoothly.”

Then the fun began! Students placed their sail cars on the floor in front of a fan. When the fan was turned on, the fan blades turned and produced a wind which propelled the cars forward.

The students then worked to improve their cars. First, they relocated the sails to the middle of their cars so that the cars would be more balanced and then worked to properly align the car wheels so that they would travel in a straighter route. These modifications helped their cars travel even further.

Through the project, students learned that a proper balance of size and structure is integral to making the cars work, Mrs. Shah added.

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