Fifth-Graders at Sharon's East Elementary Find Powering Bulbs a Breeze

fifth-graders in Jane Sullivan's class recently built vertical-axis wind turbines that generate enough electricity to power small light bulbs.

Inspired by a Boston University graduate school class, Immersion in Green Energy, Sullivan designed a mini-unit on green energy, which included a wind turbine project.

A Norfolk County Teachers Association grant Sullivan received in the fall partially funded the project.

The mini-unit fit in with the Sharon curriculum standards for fifth grade, which
include a unit on magnets and motors.

As part of the project, students measured, cut and assembled raw materials using glue guns, saws and box cutters. Students then hand-coiled copper wire to design a stator and applied neodymium magnets to create a rotor. As the rotor passed over the stator, electrons began flowing through the wire, generating enough electrical current to power a small light emitting diode.

On June 11, Sharon school officials, including East Principal Elizabeth Murphy, Superintendent Timothy Farmer and Assistant Superintendent for Administration and Finance Glenn Brand witnessed the first day of testing.

-- submitted by Jane Sullivan