Building a science fair exhibit using the Raspberry Pi

In this task, we will build a simple physics experiment controlled by the Raspberry Pi. This can be used to explain how things such as a solar panel, windmill, and so on work. In this example, we will build a windmill experiment that can possibly be used as a demonstrative exhibit at a science fair.

Prepare for lift off

We need a windmill generator kit from a hobby store (for example, http://amzn.com/B0016PBH9Q). The kit needs to be put together leaving the leads of the DC motor exposed.

Engage thrusters

1. The DC motor of the wind energy kit needs to be interfaced to the Raspberry Pi GPIO pin as shown in the following Fritzing schematic:
   

   A Fritzing schematic showing the interface of a DC motor and a button for control

2. Since the DC motor is interfaced to your Raspberry Pi's GPIO #18, it can be turned on (we are making use of the RPi.GPIO libraries; refer to previous projects if you are not familiar with RPi.GPIO):

   import RPi.GPIO as GPIO...