MADISON, (WKOW) — Students from Wisconsin and northern Illinois participated in the Wisconsin KidWind Challenge and Renewable Energy Expo on Saturday at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Discovery Building.

The event featured a hands-on competition and an expo focused on renewable energy. The competition included 22 teams of elementary, middle, and high school students who tested model wind turbines and solar arrays. The top teams will advance to the 2026 World KidWind Challenge, scheduled for May in Madison.

Karina Dunn, Julian Dunn, and Shashi Getachew from the La Crosse area were among the participants.

“Today we’re at the Wisconsin KidWind competition, and this is a day when teams from all across the state of Wisconsin come together to compete in wind and solar disciplines,” Karina Dunn said.

The team decided to improve the standard kit by engineering their own turbine.

“We ended up engineering our own wind turbine,” Julian Dunn said. “This is an aluminum wind turbine, and we completely engineered this section of our turbine.”

The competition was praised for building valuable STEM skills and fostering interest in renewable energy.

“There’s just a lot of trial and error that goes into it, especially when you’re starting things from scratch,” Shashi Getachew said.

Following the competition, the Renewable Energy Expo took place, featuring demonstrations and activities on energy, sustainability, and climate.