LEGO is already pretty good at teaching you how things fit together.
Add motors, gears, sensors, and renewable energy into the equation, though, and it becomes something much more interesting.
The LEGO Education Renewable Energy Add-On Set 9688 is designed to let students experiment with solar, wind, and water power using actual working LEGO components, and then measure what happens.
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This Isn’t a Normal LEGO Set
First, there’s an important distinction.
The Renewable Energy Add-On Set isn’t designed primarily as a standalone LEGO kit. It’s an expansion for the LEGO Education Simple and Motorized Mechanisms Set, part of LEGO’s Machines & Mechanisms educational system.
The idea isn’t to build a model, put it on a shelf, and call it finished.
Instead, students build machines, generate energy, take measurements, change variables, and observe what happens.
It’s LEGO being used as an engineering platform.
Solar, Wind and Water in LEGO Form
The set focuses on three major renewable energy sources:
- Solar
- Wind
- Water
Students can build models that demonstrate how these energy sources can be captured and converted into usable power.
And that’s where hands-on learning makes a huge difference.
You can explain how a wind turbine converts kinetic energy into electricity.
Or you can build one.
Change the blades.
Change the airflow.
Measure the result.
Now you’re not just learning a concept. You’re experimenting with it.
There’s Even Human Power
Renewable energy isn’t the only thing students can investigate.
The system also lets them experiment with energy generated by their own bodies.
That’s a clever way to introduce one of the fundamental ideas behind energy science: energy doesn’t simply appear.
It gets transferred and converted.
Chemical energy from food can become mechanical movement.
Mechanical movement can drive a generator.
A generator can produce electricity.
And that electricity can be measured, stored, and eventually used to perform work.
Suddenly, “energy conversion” becomes something you can physically experience.
The LEGO Energy Meter Is the Cool Part
One of the most interesting components is the LEGO Energy Meter.
Instead of just seeing that a solar panel or generator works, students can collect measurements and analyze what’s actually happening.
That opens up much better questions.
Which energy source produces more power?
How does changing the angle of a solar panel affect output?
What happens when wind speed changes?
How much energy can be stored?
How quickly is that stored energy consumed?
This is where the kit starts feeling less like a toy and more like a miniature renewable energy laboratory.
Generate. Transfer. Store. Use.
The educational concept behind the set goes beyond simply generating electricity.
Students can investigate the entire energy journey:
Energy source → Generation → Transfer → Storage → Conversion → Consumption
That’s important because real-world energy systems work the same way.
Generating renewable electricity is only part of the challenge. We also need to move it, store it, measure it, and use it efficiently.
The models are obviously simplified, but the fundamental concepts are very real.
It Can Work With LEGO MINDSTORMS
Things get even more interesting when you combine the Renewable Energy Add-On Set with compatible LEGO MINDSTORMS Education equipment.
When connected to the NXT Brick, components including the solar panel, generator, and LEGO Energy Meter can function as sensors.
That creates opportunities to combine:
Renewable energy + engineering + data + programming.
Instead of only building a wind turbine, for example, students can potentially start collecting data from their experiments and using it as part of a larger programmable system.
For older students, that’s where the educational possibilities really expand.
It’s About the Experiment, Not the Instructions
One thing I particularly like about this kind of LEGO Education product is that there’s no single “correct” finished model.
The interesting part comes after you’ve built something.
What happens if you change it?
Students can form a hypothesis, modify their model, measure the results, and compare the data.
That’s essentially the scientific method disguised as playing with LEGO.
And that’s a pretty effective way to teach STEM.
Who Is This For?
The LEGO Education Renewable Energy Add-On Set makes the most sense for:
- Schools
- STEM classrooms
- Homeschooling
- Science clubs
- Robotics programs
- Young engineering enthusiasts
- Existing LEGO Education users
It’s particularly compelling if you already have the compatible Simple and Motorized Mechanisms Set, because this is specifically designed as an expansion rather than a conventional standalone LEGO set.
Likewise, anyone interested in the MINDSTORMS integration should carefully check compatibility with their existing LEGO Education hardware before purchasing, especially since this set belongs to an earlier generation of LEGO Education products.
Final Thoughts
The LEGO Education Renewable Energy Add-On Set 9688 represents one of my favorite approaches to STEM education:
Don’t just explain the technology.
Build it.
Generate electricity from sunlight.
Capture energy from moving air.
Experiment with water power.
Turn your own movement into electricity.
Measure the results.
Then change something and see what happens.
The result is a much more tangible introduction to concepts like energy generation, transfer, storage, conversion, and consumption.
Just remember that this is an add-on set, so you’ll want to verify that you have or can obtain, the compatible LEGO Education equipment needed for the activities you want to perform.
For the right classroom, homeschool setup, or LEGO-based STEM lab, though, it’s a fascinating way to turn renewable energy from an abstract science lesson into something students can actually build, measure, and understand.
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