Hipp to be Green

A lot of people have asked us about our first Hipp Grant project which focused on wind turbines.  Here’s the write-up that appeared in the September 2007 NJEA Review magazine which explains the project:

Wind Turbine Generator
Berlin Community School
Camden County
$8,600

Thanks to teachers Wesley Hill, Barbara Rote, and Dave Madden, approximately 250 students in grades six through eight will incorporate science, mathematics, and technology objectives to create power as they learn the concepts of using wind to generate electricity.

During the summer, the teachers designed instructional elements, while other key staff helped ensure that technology, science, and math literacy elements were addressed.  The students will be introduced to those project elements through daily instruction.  By January 2008, students will take a field trip to the 7.5 megawatt (MW) Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm in Atlantic City.

Students in science classes will design demonstrational wind power turbines and weather vanes.  Math classes will complete graphs from data provided by the science classes.  Technology classes will complete a construction site survey and build the wind turbine generator.

Over the course of the project, students will design, construct, estimate construction costs, analyze project risk, and evaluate the cost savings of a wind turbine.  The goal is to create a turbine that turns as fast as possible when exposed to a wind source for a specific period of time.  The plan is to provide supplemental electricity back to the electrical grid, saving the school district on operating costs.