Watching my students compete on a stage as large as a world championship competition has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my teaching career. If someone had asked me three years ago whether I saw myself coaching a wind energy team and traveling across the country to compete at KidWind Worlds, I would have looked at them with confusion. Yet today, I cannot imagine my classroom without it.
As a West Texas native, wind turbines have always been a part of the landscape. They dot the horizon in every direction, and like many people who grow up around them, I eventually stopped noticing them. They simply became part of the background. I never imagined that those towering structures would become the foundation of one of the most impactful educational experiences of my career.
Three years ago, when I began teaching in the small rural community of New Home, Texas, my principal forwarded me an email about a competition called KidWind. I had never heard of it before. The email arrived just two weeks before teacher training, and my principal thought it might fit into my STEM classes.
Curious, I signed up for the training to learn more.
Diving in
At the workshop, I was given a KidWind kit and tasked with building a small wind turbine. What started as a simple professional development activity quickly turned into an obsession. I became fascinated by turbine design, renewable energy, and the science behind generating electricity from wind. I went home and immediately started researching. I spent hours learning about blade design, energy production, aerodynamics and clean energy technologies so I could bring that knowledge back to my students.
That first year, I had a middle school STEM class of just nine students. We formed two teams, all made up of seventh graders and began learning everything we could about wind energy. We studied how turbines work, tested designs, collected data and learned the engineering design process. None of us really knew what to expect.
About six weeks later, one of our teams attended a regional competition. Our goal was to observe, learn, and gain experience for the future.
Instead, they won.
Suddenly, our students had earned a trip to KidWind Worlds in Minneapolis. Not only did they compete on the world stage, they also brought home a Judge’s Choice Award. For a first-year program from a small rural school, it was an incredible accomplishment. After that experience, we were hooked.
A STEM catalyst
What started as a STEM project evolved into something much larger. I eventually began teaching a class dedicated entirely to KidWind. Students spent their time researching, designing, building, testing and improving turbine systems. While the competition itself was important, the skills students developed along the way proved even more valuable.
They learned critical thinking. They learned how to analyze data. They learned how to collaborate with teammates, communicate ideas, and solve problems when their first solution failed. These are skills that transfer far beyond a wind tunnel and into every classroom, career and challenge they will face in life.
The program continued to grow each year. During our first trip to Worlds, I had one team consisting of five seventh-grade boys. The following year in Phoenix, our program expanded to three wind teams and one solar team, representing 14 students. This year, 12 students traveled to Madison, Wis., to compete as members of three teams.
The success of these students is not accidental. They work incredibly hard every day. They spend countless hours designing and redesigning turbine components. They experiment with different materials, test blade configurations, create 3D-printed parts, and analyze performance data. They learn that failure is not something to fear but rather a necessary step toward improvement.
One of the highlights of this year’s competition was seeing my high school team — the same students who were part of that very first team three years ago — receive a Blade Engineering Design Award for their innovative blade design. Watching those students grow from curious seventh-graders into skilled young engineers has been incredibly rewarding.
Even more exciting was the performance of our first-year all-girls middle school team, which won the world championship.
These young ladies impressed everyone who met them. What made their success especially meaningful was the way they worked together. Each student brought unique strengths to the team, and they learned how to combine those strengths to create something greater than any one individual could accomplish alone.
Harper, the team’s lone seventh-grader, became our data expert. She could research and analyze information as well as anyone. Tatum, an eighth-grader, developed an in-depth understanding of blade design, gears, and turbine function. Charley focused on the base structure and could explain every aspect of its design and purpose. Ella became the team’s expert on the wind tunnel process, understanding exactly how long the tunnel needed to run before data collection could begin to maximize energy output.
Eager to learn
What stood out most was their enthusiasm. Every day, they were eager to show me what they had improved, what challenges they had encountered, and why they had made specific design decisions. They embraced the engineering process and continuously sought ways to improve their turbine.
Competing on the world stage has taught all of us valuable lessons about collaboration, innovation, and perseverance. It has shown our students that the same energy challenges being explored in classrooms and laboratories around the world are challenges they can help solve. They have learned that age does not limit innovation and that their ideas have value.
As a teacher and coach, I often find myself learning just as much from my students as they learn from me. Their creativity, determination, and willingness to think differently continually inspire me. They bring energy and excitement into the classroom every day, and they remind me why education matters.
KidWind has provided our students with opportunities far beyond what any of us could have imagined when that first email arrived three years ago. I’ve had the privilege of coaching 11 KidWind teams and one solar team, helping students develop critical thinking, collaboration and problem-solving skills while competing at the regional and world levels.
Watching students transform from curious learners into confident innovators has become one of the most rewarding aspects of my career. It has opened doors, built confidence, and inspired future engineers, scientists and problem-solvers.
Most importantly, it has shown our students that they are capable of achieving extraordinary things.
As I look ahead to future seasons, I am excited to see what competitions we might win and what these remarkable young people accomplish in life. If their work in the classroom and on the world stage is any indication, their future is incredibly bright.