Make An Anemometer

GATHER YOUR MATERIALS:

  • 1 pencil with eraser end
  • 5 foam cups
  • 1 straight pin
  • 2 long plastic straws
  • 1 colored marker
  • Masking Tape
  • A windy day
  1. With the colored marker, color one of the foam cups and set it aside so you can use it as your starting point when measuring the wind speed.
  2. Take one cup for your centerpiece and poke the straws through the top to make a cross ("+") shape in the center and tape the cross section together to hold. Now take the pencil and poke it through the bottom of the cup so the eraser end is up under the cross section of the straws. Place the straight pin through the straw centers and into the eraser to hold. Don't make the pin too tight as this is the axis on which your anemometer will turn.
  3. Take the remaining three cups, and the colored cup, and poke the other ends of the straws through the sides of the cups. Make sure they are all facing the same direction.
  4. Now place your anemometer in the ground with the pencil end. When the wind blows, start counting how many times the colored cup goes by in one minute. That's the speed of the wind. For example, if the cup makes 10 complete revolutions in one minute, the wind speed is 10 mph.