Seneca Valley students headed to KidWind World Championship

Seneca Valley (SV) is proud to announce that two student teams from Haine Elementary and Middle School have earned invitations to the KidWind World Championship, taking place May 17-20 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The competition is the culminating event of the KidWind Challenge, a hands-on design competition that encourages students to explore the power and promise of clean energy through building and testing small-scale wind turbines and solar structures.

Several Seneca Valley KidWind teams recently competed at the state KidWind championships, held at Penn State University. The solar competition was held on March 5, while the wind competition was held on March 25. To qualify for this state competition, teams had to finish in one of the top three places in our local SV KidWind Challenge, held on February 6, at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center.

Following impressive showings at these events, two Seneca Valley teams earned tickets to the prestigious world finals:

• The solar team from Haine Elementary School, “Einstein Extraordinaires,” designed a solar environment that contained a solar laboratory, gardens and shed. At Penn State, they won the Solar Spirit Award. The team is composed of Kevin Husband, Maddox Pindroh, Brayden Hauck, Garrett Schiela and Ronav Mistri.

• The SV Wind Power team from Haine Middle School, “Airborne Military Ducks” won the second-place award. After designing and testing a variety of different gear ratios and blade designs, the team created a turbine with four gears and six identical blades made of corrugated plastic. The team consists of Ihsan Sirazee, Auggy Semblante, Jesse Wabiszewski and Everett Williamson.

Both teams are coached by Linda Weismann, fourth grade teacher, and Jeremiah Friday, gifted support teacher at Haine Elementary.

The KidWind Project is a national educational initiative focused on teaching students about renewable energy through hands-on, STEM-based learning. A key feature of the program is the KidWind Challenge, where student teams design, build, and test small wind turbines or solar projects, applying engineering, problem-solving and teamwork skills. The KidWind Project aims to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers while increasing understanding of renewable energy and its role in a sustainable future.