The windmills were hooked up to a generator and a computer that measured how much electricity was created when wind from a vacuum was blown on them.

The winning windmill generated more than 12 volts of electricity.

Some windmills, including the winner's, worked exactly as planned. Others didn't work at all.

"It is not a bad thing if the final product isn't great, because the process is where the learning takes place," said former York Tech President Dennis Merrell, now a consultant for 3D Systems.

Students have been planning and constructing their windmills in class for the past few months. The windmill from Fort Mill High had been tested at 3D Systems before Thursday's competition. The ones from Northwestern had not.

"That was part of the learning experience," said Bryan Coburn, who teaches engineering at Northwestern. "Learning why it's important to test it and not put all your eggs in one basket."

The competition was a fun experience for students such as Austin Hamilton, a freshman at Northwestern who likes designing and building things.

"It was hard working around the constraints," said Hamilton, 14. "But once everything came together, it sort of fell into place."

Kevin Berger, a 16-year-old sophomore at Fort Mill High, said it was a little harder than he anticipated to create the winning windmill.

"We've had to adjust it a little bit for some problems," he said.

The competition was designed to get students interested in engineering through hands-on activities while also teaching teamwork.

"Everything they see can't be limited to the four walls of the high school," Merrell said. "This gets them out there."