Teachers from around the state came to Mahtomedi Oct. 13-14 for a two-day wind education workshop presented by Michael Arquin, founder of St. Paul-based KidWind. MAGI hosted the event with funding from a grant from Xcel Energy Foundation and a partnership with the University of Minnesota Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP).

Teachers experienced the hands-on activities KidWind has developed to help students learn about how wind energy works. They built electricity-generating wind turbines from simple materials and experimented with factors like blade design and turbine siting. Each teacher left the training with materials and lessons they could take back to their classrooms, along with $200 to spend on materials to help integrate wind lessons into classrooms and curriculum.

Participants included six teachers from Mahtomedi and eight who work with students from the White Earth, Red Lake and Fond du Lac tribes. CCEFP is keenly interested in forging an ongoing relationship between Mahtomedi Schools and native communities around wind energy.