Kid's Energy to Power School

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Story Published: Jul 15, 2008 at 5:44 PM MST

Story Updated: Nov 20, 2008 at 11:12 PM MST

By Danielle Leigh

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REXBURG - A group of BYU-Idaho students is taking advantage of a basically untouched renewable energy source, your kid's energy.

The team is using your average swing set to create electricity.

It's only one of eight Junior and Senior projects the Engineering Department at BYU-I is showcasing today.

These two students may just have found the ultimate renewable resource. All it takes is a little playtime.

"The idea is when they swing back and forth it turns this shaft and then this shaft can be hooked up to an AC generator," says Michael Tracy.

The swing set will be expanded and used to power schools in Ghana, Africa...

"They don't have light to read they have light to do any of there homework and so what this does is it powers up a bunch of L.E.D lanterns," says Michael Tracy.

These swings are actually very effective for creating electricity. Just one swing will power a 25 watt light bulb.

Here's another tool you may benefit from a little sooner, the "Hands-Free Crunch."

"Anybody who has ever been on a set of crunches has suffered that old arm pit fatigue. That's a big thing, it's just more comfortable, and the really big thing is that it allows you to use your hands," says Nicolas Woolstenhulm.

I tried to test the crunches myself, but I ran into a few snags. One bit of advice, don't try this is a skirt or in heels.

That said, those who've actually used the crunches call them extremely convenient.

"It takes just a few minutes to get used to, but after you get used to it and get where you know what feels good what you can do, walking is pretty easy," says another student on the team.

The point of the projects is to give mechanical engineers a grasp on how much goes into product develop and design before they graduate.

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