In April, approximately 40 fourth through twelfth grade students competed in the KidWind Challenge event at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington.

The event kicked off with the participating students testing their turbines in a wind tunnel as judges scored their projects.

Next, EDPR NA hosted a catapult challenge where each team received a kit with craft sticks, rubber bands, and marshmallows and had 10 minutes to build a catapult. Once built, the six competing teams launched their marshmallows. The teams who catapulted their marshmallows the farthest received EDPR water bottles.

After a lunch break, the competition results were announced and Kittitas Valley Operations Manager Eric Melbardis and KidWind's Jon Roschke presented awards to the deserving students.

Following the Ellensburg event, KidWind Challenge events continued in Seattle, Washington, later on in the month of April, with the regional competition taking place in Portland, Oregon, on May 9.

These events included students from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. Representing EDPR NA at these events was Kittitas Valley Site Lead Technician Matt Anderson, who served as a judge for a few challenges. Kittitas Valley Administrator Natalie Currie also volunteered and was impressed with the students' abilities and creativity.

Top finishing teams at the regional competition qualified for the KidWind National Challenge event in Washington, DC, which will be held next year.