We're just days away from the start of the Atlantic Hurricane season, and students in Old Lyme tested their knowledge on protecting a home from hurricane wind damage today.
At Mile Creek Elementary School, a leaf blower turned the cafeteria into a hurricane zone this morning.
"I was just standing with my hands on my head, like please don't fall down," Elsie Arafeh-Hudson said.
We brought an anemometer from our NBC Connecticut weather center to measure just how fast these winds are going to simulate what a category one hurricane might look like.
"It was just fun seeing them do their research first,” Nila Kaczor, a talented and gifted fifth grade teacher said. “And then create their design from what they did their research on."
Some houses fared better than others when faced with the 80 mile per hour winds.
"We kind of slanted the two straight edged sides and we had a dome, which just allowed the wind to just blow over it instead of smacking into the house and forcing it to go down," John Eichholz, a fifth grader at Mile Creek, said.
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That was the case for a few of the model homes.
“We made this platform, but I think we should have pushed the holes down and taped it in better,” Arafeh-Hudson said. “Because that’s what flung off even before the blower came.”
No matter what the end result was, it was a learning experience for everyone.
"I liked like researching and like designing ours and like communicating with them and figuring it out," Jillian Beebe, another fifth grader taking part in the project, said.
"Even those whose houses blew across the room took a lot of fun from that and they were also able to reflect and learn from what they've done," Susan Whritner, a fifth grade ELA Science and Social Studies teacher, said.
Something that is essential for towns along the shoreline.
"They certainly know what's now needed for preparation for a hurricane. Living on the coast, I think that's important here in Old Lyme," Whritner said.
