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03 Activity overview
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Activity overview
Hack our projects
This activity focuses on building anemometers from everyday objects, to measure wind
speed. It starts with a simple mechanical engineering problem, then progresses to include We love innovation and
electrical and software engineering tasks. In the sensor-enabled portion of the project, encourage you to hack
students capture and display data in Microsoft Excel. In the motorized anemometer our projects and make
portion, students collect and visualize data sent to the anemometer from a global them your own.
weather web service. In the Excel workbook, students can select a city on the map, and
the wind speed at that location will be simulated on the anemometer theyve built. Their
anemometer will spin at the same wind speed as the city theyve chosen.
Motorized anemometer
With an internet connection and the addition of a small motor the basic anemometer can
mimic wind speed data received from a global weather website.
Substituting everyday
objects
Data Visualization
Similar items can be
Students use their anemometers to substituted/hacked for
visualize and analyze wind speed data. most materials according
This lesson puts them in the role of a to availability and the
student design process.
field scientist, gathering data to make
decisions about viable locations for a
wind farm. Students analyze data from
a variety of wind sources, modeling how
engineers and scientists use data gath-
ering tools to make real-world decisions
related to renewable energy sites.
Sourcing specialized
materials
21st century technical skills explored in this activity include: Many of these items can
be easily found online or at
your local hardware store.
You can find an online
shopping list for this entire
lesson at:
https://aka.ms/
seismographshoppinglist
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Anemometer
Basic
Mechanical
Engineering
Things youll need
Materials for basic anemometer
Note: Please double all materials if you plan to complete the full activity, as you will need two completed anemometers.
Tools
hot glue gun Substituting everyday objects
metric ruler
pencil Similar items can be substituted/hacked for
pushpin most materials, according to availability and
safety goggles the student design process.
scissors
stopwatch
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1 2
Take a paper cup and a metric ruler. Measure 5.5 cm from Connect the dashes to make a solid line. Cut along the line
the bottom of the cup and draw a dash. Continue drawing a focusing on accuracy.
dashed line around the cup at 5.5 cm from the bottom.
3 4
At 2 cm from the bottom of the cup, draw a dot. Draw Color or mark the cup to make it obvious that this is the
another dot on the opposite side, also at 2 cm from the pattern cup. It should not be used as one of the actual wind
bottom. Using the pushpin, carefully punch holes through cups, as the dimensions are different.
the dots.
5 6
Use the pattern cup to mark the cut line and holes on the Using the pushpin, make two small holes about .5 cm from
other four cups. Cut along the line and punch in the holes, the top of the straw. Each hole should be directly opposite
until you have four completed wind cups. of each other through the straw.
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7 8
Insert one of the skewers through the holes. Repeat steps 1-3, but this time make the holes below the
first skewer and at a 90 degree angle so the inserted skew-
ers create an X.
9 10
Slide the skewers out of the straw and make a mark 24 cm Reinsert the skewers into the straw and center them. Slide
up from the blunt end of the skewer. Score the skewer with the wind cups onto the ends making sure they face the
a pair of scissors and snap off the sharp end of the skewer. same direction. Secure the cups on the skewer ends with
hot glue.
11 12
Take the clear cup and without squeezing out any glue, Glue the spool to the center of the plate. Be careful, try
melt a hole in the bottom center of the cup. Make the hole not to get glue inside the spool - it can create drag for the
just slightly wider than the diameter of the straw. rotating straw, impacting the accuracy of your readings.
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13 14
Insert the wind cup support structure into the cup and Great work! You now have a completed basic anemometer.
spool. When youre satisfied that its straight, glue the clear Test it by blowing on the cups to see if it rotates easily.
cup to the plate.
1. Carefully, make a large, visible symbol on the top of one cup. This will be the marker you will count as the anemometer
rotates.
2. Go outside to measure actual wind, or use a fan indoors to simulate wind. Using a stopwatch, count how many times the
symbol passes a certain point within 10 seconds.
Number of rotations:________________________________
3. To calculate the rotations per second, divide the number of rotations above by 10.
4. Now you will determine the rotational circumference (3.14 x the diameter of the wind cup structure). The diameter is the
length of the skewer connecting two wind cups - it should be 24 cm (as determined in step 4 in Build the cup support
structure above).
Rotational circumference:____________________________
5. To determine the distance (in cm) traveled per second, multiply the number of rotations per second by the circumfer-
ence.
6. To determine the distance (in cm) traveled in 1 hour, multiply the distance traveled in one second by 3600 .
7. To convert this into km/h - divide the distance (cm) traveled in one hour by 100,000. This gives you the wind speed in
km/h.
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Connected anemometer
Sensor-enabled
Mechanical Electrical
Engineering Engineering
Software Data
Engineering Science
Things youll need
Materials for the sensor-enabled anemometer
1 completed basic anemometer
1 reed switch
2 pin-ended aligator clips
1 plastic drinking straw
2 mini neodymium circular magnets (4mm diameter)
Also needed
Arduino activity on page 13
Tools
adhesive tape
hot glue gun
marker
metric ruler
scissors
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Add a sensor to the anemometer
1 2
On one end of the straw, cut two small v-shaped notches. The end of your straw should look like this.
This will create a groove for the reed switch.
3 4
Position the reed switch into the notch you made and se- Tape the reed switch straw to the plastic cup of the ane-
cure it with a small piece of tape. Next, bend the two leads mometer. Position the straw so that the reed switch sits just
of the reed switch downward. below the lower skewer without touching the skewer.
5 6
Attach two 4mm magnets with hot glue on the underside Lastly, connect the alligator clips to the two leads on the
of the upper skewer so as they rotate, the magnets pass di- reed switch.
rectly over the reed switch. You should hear a faint clicking
sound when the maget passes over the read switch.
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Connect the microcontroller
PC running Windows 10
1 Arduino UNO board
1 breadboard
1 USB cable (USB micro) Arduino programming cable (2 meters)
1 temperature sensor (TMP 36)
1 resistor
5 jumper wires (color does not matter)
Arduino IDE
Arduino UNO Flash Code
Measuring Windspeed workbook (pg 20)
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1 2
Start by connect your Arduino UNO to your computer with Go to aka.ms/flashcode and download the flash code.
the USB cord, then download and install the Arduino IDE, by
following the prompts.
3 4
Open your downloaded file to launch the Arduino App. Next, select: Tools > Port > COM4 (Arduino Uno) Your com
port may be different than COM4.
5 6
Then select Tools > Board: Arduino/Genuino Uno > Click on the circular right arrow button to upload.
Arduino/Genuino Uno.
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Assemble your electrical components
GND
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
AREF
13
12
10
11
RESET
RX0
TX0
DIGITAL (PWM= )
ICSP2
L
Plug USB cable here
TX ON
Arduino
TM
RX
1
ICSP
jumper wire
~9 to E2
jumper wire
E1 to 5V
Temperature
sensor POWER ANALOG IN
RESET
IOREF
GND
GND
jumper wire
3V3
VIN
i12, i13, i14 5V
A0
A1
A2
A3
A4
A5
AD to G13
jumper wire
D1 to H12
10
15
20
25
30
1
5
J
J
I
I
F G H
F G H
jumper wire
C6 to H14
resistor
A B C D E
A B C D E
D2 to D6
jumper wire
A6 to GND
to reed switch
red A1, black A2
10
15
20
25
30
1
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Connected anemometer
Motorized
Mechanical Electrical
Engineering Engineering
Software Data
Engineering Science
Things youll need
Materials for the motorized anemometer
1 completed basic anemometer
1 LEGO Technic motor (Part 888: Power Functions M-Motor)
1 LEGO Technic 2.5 cm pulley (Part 4185: Wedge-Belt Wheel)
1 LEGO Technic axle (Part 3705: Cross Axle 4M)
1 LEGO Technic bushing (Part 32123: Bush)
1 wooden skewer
1 small rubber band (3 cm diameter)
Arduino Instructions
Also needed
Measuring Windspeed workbook (pg 20)
Tools
metric ruler
scissors
clear tape
wire stripper or razor blade
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1 2
Take the base of your basic anemometer and a wooden Evenly cut the plug off the Lego motor control wire with
skewer. Place the wood skewer into the spool and mark 4 scissors. Use wire strippers or a razor to remove the coating
cm above the top of the cup. Then, cut the wood skewer at on the wires, exposing about 1 cm of bare wire and cut off
the 4 cm mark. Discard the short piece of the cut skewer. the two outer wires.
3 4
Assemble the Lego motor, axle, bushing, and pulley, as Now, tape the motor to the side of the cup as shown in the
shown in the photos. photo above. The axle must be parallel to the skewer. The
motor must be vertical in order to operate properly.
5 6
Place the top of your anemometer with wind cups back Your motorized anemometer should look like this.
into the base and apply the rubber band on the motor and
the straw for the anemometer making sure it fits snug.
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Connect the microcontroller
1 diode
4 alligator clips
1 jumper wire
1 resistor
1 transistor
(1) 9V battery
Also needed
Measuring Windspeed workbook (pg 20)
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Assemble the electronic pieces
GND
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
AREF
13
12
10
11
RESET
RX0
TX0
DIGITAL (PWM= )
ICSP2
L
TX ON
Arduino
TM
RX
1
ICSP
POWER ANALOG IN
RESET
IOREF
GND
GND
3V3
VIN
5V
A0
A1
A2
A3
A4
A5
transistor
i4 to i9
10
15
20
25
30
1
5
J
J
I
I
F G H
F G H
Transistor
E7, E8, E10
jumper wire
diode
A B C D E
A B C D E
G9 to A8
D11 to D15
lead to alligator
clips on reed
10
15
20
25
30
switch
1
attached to battery
via alligator clips
black B7, red E14
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Get ready to visualize data
To complete the full project, make sure you meet these technical requirements:
Data is displayed in Celcius in the range of -10 to 40 C. To stimulate the sensor, try
squeezing the temperature sensor on your device, applying friction, or hot arit from
a hair dryer.
Beaufort Number
This rating system indicates windspeed from a Light Air (1) to a Hurricane Force (12).
Wind Speed
Displays the current windspeed as read by your anemometer. The inner dial
reflects speeds on a range of 0-5 km/h. The outer dial reflects speeds on a range
of 0-50 km/h.
RPM Counter
Visualizes the calculated revolutions per minute of the anemometers cup rotor.
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