Build the best wind blade using only cardboard, paper and wooden dowels. That was the goal assigned to students in the annual Wind Blade Challenge, an event hosted by the Jefferson-Lewis BOCES Engineering & Design program on March 13, 2025 at the Lewis County-Jefferson Community College Education Center in Lowville.
The competition was open to students in grades 6-9 in the region. Thirty-one students took part, forming eight teams. Competing were students from Beaver River, Copenhagen, and River Valley Mennonite School in Lowville.
The students were tasked with building the best homemade wind blades, which would be tested against each other. One testing station determined how much voltage the blades were able to produce while the second measured how fast the blades were able to lift a weight. Both tests involved placing the blades in front of a moving fan set at a predetermined speed.
The competing teams were given two chances at each testing station, allowing them the opportunity to make improvements to their blades and increase their final score. Each testing area was manned by students in the Engineering and Design program.
The first-place winning team consisted of students from River Valley Mennonite School in Lowville, comprising of Cooper Steria, Noah Moshier, Malachi Moser, Slate Miller. Each were given min-drones to take home.
This was the first year of competition for the first-place team.
“Some good advice. You want to have your dowel up to help with the weight competition. You want a big round bottom on the blade for speed,” says Cooper.
Taking second place were the team from Beaver River Central School, comprising of Ella Virkler, Abagail Roggie, Emma Fredenburg, Jemma Clemons .
Taking third place were a second team from River Valley Mennonite School, comprising of Nicole Moser, Eliana Roes, Madison Mast, Kendri Hirschey.
Despite each team being in competition with each other, the two teams from River Valley helped each other out during the course of the event.
“We helped the boy’s team, but they also helped us out,” says Nicole. “We considered ourselves on the same team. We didn’t car as long as a team from River Valley won”.
Jemma Clemons from the 2nd place team from Beaver River gave credit to her school’s instructor for helping prepare them and their classmates for the Wind Blade Challenge
“We want to thank Ms. Gates for giving us this great opportunity and letting us work in her room to prepare. We couldn’t be any more lucky to have her.”
Each participant was given a Wind Blade Challenge t-shirt.