Wind Turbine Parts and Materials

Building your own wind turbine from scratch is not a simple task! It can be overwhelming to think of all the parts and materials that go into making a wind turbine. We have compiled this list to help you get started. Many of these materials are available at the Kidwind shop, but creative, unique designs are always encouraged!

 

Electrical Materials
You might need to do some basic soldering to connect wires to motors.  The multimeters and alligator clips are used to hook up the measuring devices. Understanding the electrical output can be confusing, but you can learn more about it here >>

• multimeters

• motors (generators)

• solder, wires, alligator clips, etc.

• box fan (or other source of wind)

 

Building Materials
This list depends on what types of windmills you are going to build.  If you are all going to build similar models then you can keep it simple.  If you are looking for lots of variability then you can open things up.

• A Hub to attach your blades to your generator

• Balsa wood, PVC pipe and fittings, dowels, plastic cardboard, fabric, building "junk"

• Gears, pulleys, tinker toys, k'nex, legos

• construction tools – hammers, small saws, scissors, exacto knifes, glue guns, PVC cutters

• safety goggles

 

Other neat testing materials (Not required but sure are neat!)

• handheld wind speed meter (available at KidWind Shop)

• computers for graphing, simulations, etc.

• tachometer to measure blade rotational speeds

 

Don't forget that you can find most of these materials in the KidWind Shop. Check out the Science Fair Kit and the Gears and Motors Kit if you want the basic materials to build your own turbine.