Process

Most U.S. hydroelectricity is produced at large dams on major rivers, and most of these hydroelectric dams were built before the mid-1970s by federal government agencies.

The materials used for construction of dams include earth, rock, tailings from mining or milling, concrete, masonry, steel, timber, miscellaneous materials (such as plastic or rubber) and any combination of these materials.

1. Fill the Tupperware container with sand.
2. Dig the path of a river in the sand.
3. Choose a spot somewhere along the river to build your dam.
4. Use popsicle sticks and small rocks to construct a dam that will let only a little bit of water come through, but not too much.

How to make dam in Little Alchemy?

1. beaver + river.
2. beaver + tree.
3. beaver + wood.
4. river + wall.

Easy Model Dam. Measure across the center line of the plastic tub from one inside wall to the other with measuring tape. Draw a straight line on the cardboard sheet that is this measured length. Build a wall of Legos along the drawn line so the wall is three bricks tall and the length of the line.

The dam stores lots of water behind it in the reservoir. Gravity causes it to fall through the penstock inside the dam. At the end of the penstock there is a turbine propellor, which is turned by the moving water. The shaft from the turbine goes up into the generator, which produces the power.

What To Do

1. Carefully make five–six slits lengthwise in the cork.
2. Cut out rectangular pieces of cardboard the same length as and a bit wider than the cork.
3. Slide the blades into the cork slits to form a propeller.
4. Make a small cardboard frame by cutting a strip of cardboard, and bending it into a “U” shape.

Dams are structures that hold back water, or other liquid material! Dams are built on rivers so that the water in the river can be controlled. When a dam is built, it creates a reservoir of water, also called man-made lakes. When too much water is in a reservoir, it can be released safety through gates.

The most common type of hydroelectric power plant uses a dam on a river to store water in a reservoir. Water released from the reservoir flows through a turbine, spinning it, which in turn activates a generator to produce electricity. But hydroelectric power doesn’t necessarily require a large dam.