Energy Lesson 3 : Generating Michigan's Electricity

Carefully use a nail to poke a hole in the top of a soda pop can. Empty out the contents  and rinse out the can. To make a model turbine, attach three or four self-adhesive index tabs to a plastic straw, making sure that the tabs are spaced equally around the straw.

Hint: If you use straws with stripes, use the stripes as a guide.

If you can’t find self-adhesive index tabs regular index tabs, can be attached using cool melt hot glue. Use scissors to cut the straw and tabs down to 1/2 inch so that it is light enough for the steam to spin it. Make sure that the turbine is light and balanced or it will not spin. Put a plastic coffee stirrer or wooden skewer inside the straw of your model turbine so that it can spin. Strip about 1/2 inch of the plastic insulation off the ends of the wire using wire strippers to save class time.

Can Example