ADAMS TWP — Engineering students at Mars High School are blowing through a project in their engineering by design class.

Technology education teacher Ray Machusko said 14 students have taken the elective, which is a yearlong class in which students use their science, technology, engineering and math skills to complete projects. This is the first time Mars has offered the class.

Currently, the students are building wind turbines as part of a renewable energy project.

On Wednesday, students spent time perfecting their turbines, which they could build out of any material.

Machusko explained the students design the blades, motor housing and either pulley or chain drive for the turbines. They then access a virtual toolbox on the school's design software, where they can choose from a selection of gears for their turbines.

They can alter the gears to change the size, number of teeth or other specifications to suit their turbine design.

The students then build their turbines using materials of their choosing for the blades and body.

“It's 'this is what we have, let's see if we can make it work,'” Machusko said.

When a turbine is complete, each student pretests his design by holding his turbine in front of a large fan to see if it operates smoothly. The turbines are tested on both high and low fan settings to ensure the blades speed up on the high setting.

If the turbine operates poorly, the student must figure out and solve the problem.

When the turbines are finished next week, each will be placed before the fan to see how much energy is generated in the 12-volt motor that is attached. Machusko has dreams of a large plywood mock-up of a neighborhood that students would use to test the amount of power that could be supplied by their turbines.

“This is our first year,” Machusko said. “It'll come.”

As their teacher talked, students moved around the room between the bank of computers, tools, a sanding station and a testing fan.

Blades made from wood, cardboard, plastic and foam insulation were tested before the large fan. Some turned smoothly, while some wobbled so badly Machusko had to help its young designer hold it steady.

Andy Schettley, a senior, used the computer software to make 3-D bearings to attach to his unusual turbine so the blades would spin. Once he manipulated the virtual bearings, he printed them out on plastic and attached them to the turbine.

“I wanted to do something different,” Andy said of his cannister-like turbine. “I figured everyone was going to be making the windmill design.”

Andy, who aspires to be the fifth consecutive generation in his family to become a machinist, took the class because he loves designing and building objects.

“It's one of the most fun electives I've taken in my high school career,” Andy said as he clicked away at the computer.

He said making a Rube Goldberg machine and a project called “Make it Move” were also enticing projects in the class description.

“I love designing things and tinkering with things,” Andy said. “Anything mechanical is my forte.”

Margaret Manjerovic, a sophomore, worked on her turbine's engine and PVC blades on Wednesday.

“It's more strategic than it seems,” Margaret said of the turbine project.

The future chemical engineer took the class to get computer design experience.

Machusko said the project's end goal is to figure out how much power each turbine can produce in amps, but using academic skills and innovation to build the turbine could be the most important part of the wind turbine project.

“It provides students with the opportunity to put their ideas to the test,” he said.