News Release
For more information contact: David Carter, (785) 532-4998 or Linda Berry, (785) 271-3269
March 26, 2019
Teams compete for KidWind state title in Topeka on Saturday, March 30
The 2019 Kansas KidWind Challenge comes to Topeka on Saturday, March 30. Fourteen high school and middle school teams from across the state will compete for the chance to represent Kansas in the national competition in Houston, Texas in May. The event will run from 10 am to 4 pm at the Kansas Museum of History, 6425 SW 6th Avenue in Topeka. Lieutenant Governor Lynn Rogers will serve as one of the judges. The KidWind Challenge is open to the public and spectators are invited to attend.
Each of the teams earned their spot in the finals by placing first or second in the high school (grades 9-12) or middle school (grades 4-8) category at one of four regional events held in Manhattan, Burlington, Great Bend and Oakley.
| Regional Event | High School Winners | Middle School Winners |
| NE KS Regional - Manhattan | 1st Place: The Turbinators (Hope Street Academy, Topeka) | 1st Place: AEKG (Beloit Junior High School) |
| 2nd Place: JAS (Beloit High School) | 2nd Place: Tachometers (Manhattan CHIEF Homeschool) | |
| SE KS Regional - Burlington | 1st Place - Team AirSharks (Oxford High School) | 1st Place: Team Electric Four (Lebo Homeschool Co-op) |
| 2nd Place - Team Westside (Paola High School) | 2nd Place: Team Paola Middle 1 (Paola Middle School) | |
| SW KS Regional - Great Bend | 1st Place - CBCR9 (Sterling High School) | 1st Place - Salthawk Blades (Hutchinson, USD 308) |
| 2nd Place - Wind Wishers (Kansas Wetlands Education Center) | ||
| NW Regional - Oakley | 1st Place - Golden Eagle Engineering (Trego County Schools) | 1st Place - Turbinators (Dighton Elementary School PBL) |
| 2nd Place - Thunderhawks (Wheatland High School) |
To prepare for competition, the teams study wind power then build a turbine using the design and materials of their choice. During the challenge, each team’s turbine is put to the test in a 48" × 48" wind tunnel at a wind speed of approximately 3.5-5 m/s. Team members are judged on their knowledge, design, and documentation as well as performance testing.
This year, KidWind entries more than tripled with 159 students participating compared to 49 last year. In 2018, the winning team from Oxford Middle School went on to place first in the national KidWind competition in Chicago.
More information about KidWind can be found at https://kansasenergyprogram.org/kidwindchallenge.
