American Wind Power Center facts for kids
American Wind Power Center
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| Location | Lubbock, Texas, Texas, United States |
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The American Wind Power Center is a cool museum in Lubbock, Texas. It's all about wind power and how windmills work! This museum sits on 28 acres of land. You can find it just east of downtown Lubbock. Inside and outside, there are over 160 different American windmills to see.
Contents
Discovering the History of Wind Power
The American Wind Power Center started in 1993. It was created by two people, Miss Billie Wolfe and Coy F. Harris.
How the Museum Began
Miss Billie Wolfe was a teacher at Texas Tech University. She loved windmills and started looking for them in the 1960s. She took pictures and wrote down information about windmills all over the country. Billie wanted people to save these important machines.
About 30 years later, many old windmills had been fixed up. Billie found a special collection of them in Mitchell, Nebraska. Coy F. Harris helped her with this big project. He carefully took apart 48 rare windmills. Then, he moved them all the way to Lubbock.
Building the Museum Site
These windmills were kept safe until 1997. That's when the City of Lubbock gave land for the museum. Coy Harris and many volunteers moved the windmills to this new spot. They set up some windmills outside. Others were placed inside a small exhibit building.
In 1999, a much bigger building became available. Coy Harris led the effort to move this large building to the park. He changed parts of the building to make it perfect for displaying windmills.
What You Can See Today
Today, the American Wind Power Center is a fantastic place to visit. You can explore many different types of windmills.
Inside the Museum
Inside the main building, you'll find more than 100 rare and old windmills. Most of these are "water pumping" windmills. They were used to bring water up from the ground.
Windmills Outside
Outside on the museum grounds, there are about 60 more windmills. Many of these are still working! You can see them pumping water, just like they did long ago.
Modern Wind Power
Besides the old water pumping windmills, you'll also see "wind electric machines." These machines use wind to make electricity. Some of them are from the early 1920s.
A huge Vestas V47 wind turbine stands tall on the grounds. This turbine is 50 meters (about 164 feet) high! It makes enough electricity to power the entire museum all year. If there's extra power, it's sold to the local power grid.
New Exhibits and Fun
In 2016, the museum opened a big new section. It's 33,000 square feet! This new area has a 4,000 square foot "G" scale train display. The train display shows scenes from the early 1900s. Back then, windmills and trains were both very important for communities.
This part of the museum also shows more historic wind turbines. Plus, you can see the amazing Alta Reeds miniature house collection.
Gallery
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Windmills on display at the American Wind Power Center
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Vestas V47 wind turbine
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Another wind turbine
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An Aermotor Windmill. This brand is still made in San Angelo, Texas.
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A chuckwagon exhibit at the Wind Power Center
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Close-up of windmill gears
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A windmill pump
See also
