Cardboard Pocket Savonius Anemometer
An engaging, screen-free learning activity that builds real-world creativity and critical thinking for kids aged 7 to 9.
Materials Needed
- • Small 2oz paper espresso cups or lightweight plastic portion cups (4)
- • Rigid plastic or paper drinking straws (2)
- • Standard unsharpened wooden pencil with intact rubber eraser (1)
- • Push pin or round-headed sewing pin (1)
- • Bright red permanent marker (1)
Pro Tips
- → Color one cup bright red so you can easily count its revolutions per 10 seconds.
- → Formula: Revolutions in 10 seconds multiplied by 6 = RPM (rotations per minute).
- → Test inside with a portable fan at speeds 1, 2, and 3 to graph linear airflow correlation.
Safety First
Push pin is sharp; adult should oversee piercing into the pencil eraser.
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Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1
Color one paper cup completely red with a marker; leave the other three white for high-contrast tracking.
Step 2
Staple or tape two rigid straws into a perpendicular plus-sign (+), then attach one cup to each of the four straw ends pointing in the same clockwise direction.
Step 3
Push a sewing pin through the exact center intersection of the straws and down into the rubber eraser of the unsharpened pencil.
Step 4
Hold the pencil vertically in the breeze and count how many times the red cup passes your eye in a 10-second timer window.