Interactive Primary Newsletter 36 Sun and Wind (Renewable Energy Special)
Class activities You need to find the direction of the prevailing wind and where will you get the strongest, most constant and reliable winds. This can be tested by using a simple windsock. Making a simple windsock - You will require an A4 sheet of paper as well as a sheet of tissue paper or thin plastic (from a carrier bag) measuring about 30 x 30 cm. Figures 2 & 3 - The 30 x 30 sheet (left) should be marked out in 1 cm strips and cut with scissors up to the 1 cm line drawn horizontally. This forms the streamer tail of the wind sock. Fold the A4 sheet in three (above right) and Sellotape together. Coil this into a tube and stick together. This forms the body of the windsock. Wrap the top end of the streamer tail around the tube and stick together. The final windsock should look like Figure 4a. You may have seen windsocks at the end of airport runways and are used by air-traffic controllers and pilots to gauge the strength and direction of the wind.
Figure 4a - Final construction of windsock	Figure 4b - Students need only tissue paper or thin plastic (from a carrier bag), two straws, Sellotape and string.
Instead of using windsocks, the children can acquire similar information by making and flying kites (Figure 4b). They are very simple to make and will fly in fairly light winds. The finished size is smaller than a sheet of A4 paper. Finding the direction of the wind