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Top left: The Mavericks, representing Oakley High School, won one of only three Innovation Awards issued and the only Data Analytics Award at the World KidWind competition in May. Pictured left to right are Maddox Hubert, Gage Eberle, Elliot Bloom and Carter Krier. Top right: The Wind Whisperers, of Oakley Middle School, won one of only six Rookies of the Year Awards at the World KidWind competition in May. Above: Sea Breeze, of Oakley High School, also competed in this spring's World KidWind competition. (Photos submitted by Morgan Berkgren.)
The Mavericks, of Oakley High School, stand with their radio-controlled wind turbine that operates with a remote-activated water cooling system. (Screenshot, Morgan Berkgren TikTok)
Combining physics, competitiveness and good, old-fashioned teamwork have proven to be a winning strategy for Morgan Berkgren’s students in Oakley USD 274.
With Berkgren’s encouragement and unwavering support, these enterprising and driven middle and high school students find success year after year in regional, state and the global KidWind Challenges, a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competition that highlights wind as a renewable energy.
“They learn so much in the process,” Berkgren said of her students when they are building wind turbines prior to taking them to a KidWind competition. “They are learning science and they’re also learning people skills. That’s the kind of passion I’m trying to instill in these kids.”
Berkgren, a science teacher at Oakley USD 274’s middle and high schools, began taking students to regional, state and national KidWind challenges in 2019, where fourth- through 12th grade students build wind turbines and compete against students in their age groups to see how much energy their turbines produce in a wind tunnel. The students must explain how they designed and built their turbines to a panel of judges, take a knowledge quiz and participate in an instant challenge to test their critical thinking skills.
At the World KidWind competition in Phoenix, Arizona, this past spring, Oakley USD 274 had the most Kansas teams from one district winning awards. Berkgren’s middle school students, The Wind Whisperers, won one of six Rookie of the Year awards while The Mavericks, one of her high school teams, won one of three Innovation Awards and were the sole winner of the Data Analytics Award. Sea Breeze, another Oakley High School team, also qualified for and competed in the world competition.
Being a former softball player herself, Berkgren said she is a natural competitor. Leaning into her fierce sense of competitiveness combined with a passion for science and renewable energy, she believes her students - athletes and non-athletes alike - not only get excited for but prepare themselves to win at all levels of the KidWind challenges.
“They want to compete,” she said. “Anything I can do to get them to compete, it’s great. They also want to see a purpose for what they’re doing.”
Berkgren said the students who are interested in participating in KidWind have varied interests and may not normally interact a lot with each other. However, she said not only are these groups of students learning the skills of teamwork, determination and problem-solving when preparing their turbines for competition, they’re learning how to connect with each other.
“I want them to break boundaries,” she said. “They’re also understanding that everyone brings different qualities to the table. I want them to see that they are more than what they’re told they are.”
Berkgren said her students have earned the reputation for being good presenters at the KidWind challenges because she emphasizes the importance of being able to clearly explain the design and operation of their turbines.
“You can’t just build a turbine, you have to be able to talk about it,” she said. “Sometimes that gets lost in how visual our world is today.”
Being part of KidWind has helped Berkgren’s students see potential career paths into renewable energy. That includes Maddox Hubert, a junior at Oakley High School, who says eventually he wants to become a mechanical engineer.
Hubert was a first-time KidWind participant in eighth grade when his team won their age division at the national KidWind competition that year. Now, as part of the four-person Mavericks team at Oakley High School, he said he enjoys working on the modeling of the turbine and creating the competition presentation.
“We spend a lot of time practicing for the presentation that’s mostly about how the turbine is built,” he said, adding that he likes talking about the technical aspects of the team’s turbine. “It’s pretty easy (to explain) once you know the turbine. We talk about what’s going into building it and how each part functions.”
Because the KidWind projects aren’t part of their science class, the teams must work on their turbines outside of the school day. As a year-round athlete in wrestling, cross country and track, Hubert said being part of KidWind is a priority for which he makes time.
“I’m very passionate about it but I have to fit it into my schedule,” he said, adding that he plans to continue participating in KidWind this coming school year and his senior year.
Berkgren said the enthusiasm and financial support given by the Oakley community energizes and fuels her and her students to want to continue competing in KidWind.
“Our local businesses are huge in supporting our STEM program,” she said. “It helps that we’ve been successful, and they can see something coming out of this.”
In Kansas, KidWind is a STEM-related education program sponsored by the Kansas Corporation Commission, Kansas State University and the Kansas Energy Program. The 2026 Kansas regional competitions begin in February.
The following Kansas teams won awards at the World KidWind Challenge in May in Phoenix, Arizona:
Innovation Award: The Mavericks, Oakley High School (9th–12th grade division) – only three winners
Data Analytics Award:
The Mavericks, Oakley High School (9th–12th grade division) – sole winner
Rookies of the Year Award: The Wind Whisperers, Oakley Middle School (6th–8th grade division) – only six winners
Energy Efficiency & Sustainability Award: The WINders, Nemaha Central Middle School (6th–8th grade division) – sole winner
Judge’s Award: The Twisty Tornados, Logan Middle School (6th–8th grade division) – only five winners
The other Kansas teams participating in the world competition included the following:
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