August 19, 2013
Alberta

Young lessons in wind energy

Nick Kuhl | Lethbridge Herald | August 19, 2013 | lethbridgeherald.com

It’s never too early to start learning about renewable energy.

That was one of the main messages a group of southern Alberta kids ages five to 12 heard during the third annual Kid Wind Energy Camp Friday at Lethbridge College.

The daylong event featured tours of the college’s 20-metre training tower, the energy shed with its solar panels and small-scale wind turbines, and the wind turbine technician training classroom.

“Having everything right here in this location has been perfect,” said Kris Hodgson, a wind energy community liaison at LC.

“We’ve had great engagement from the kids and they’ve been really involved and asking a lot of different questions. We told them all about how solar energy and wind energy is created. They learn the differences between renewable and non-renewable energy and how tall wind turbine towers are. I think they’ve enjoyed it.”

The participants had a scavenger hunt for facts on wind energy, constructed mini model wind turbine towers out of toothpicks and marshmallows and then built an actual small wind turbine that worked to pick up washers.

Hodgson, also a faculty member at LC’s school of media and design, said wind energy accounts for about 10 per cent of Alberta’s energy and that it continues to grow, including ongoing construction of Canada’s largest wind park near Carmangay.

“We want to encourage kids to learn about this type of power, that is renewable and southern Alberta has some of the best resources for both wind and solar,” Hodgson said. “We could definitely ween ourselves of off coal and oil and natural gas.”


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/08/19/young-lessons-in-wind-energy/