We all LOVE watching a Disney show called Phineas and Ferb- it's about two brothers who fill the days of their summer vacation with incredible inventions and amazing adventures- like giant remote control cars, a four foot bowling ball, their own game show and an elevator to space.
It has inspired us so much that we've decided to base our science/technology lessons on the show for a while. Some of these lessons will last for several weeks (like the first one) and some will just be a one day thing. All of the kids were excited to get started! Today was Episode 1: Rollercoaster. But we actually watched the later remade episode of the show Rollercoaster: The Musical!, just because it is always more fun with silly songs. In this episode they build The Coolest Coaster Ever...
After watching the show together we came up with a list of what the kids would put on a rollercoaster if there were no limits. They named the coaster the 2G2R Coaster (Too Great Too Ride Coaster) and
came up with this crazy list.
After all that craziness we got to the educational part and talked a bit about why most of their ideas couldn't happen on a real rollercoaster. There were some new vocabulary words to learn: energy, force, inertia, acceleration, velocity and centripetal force. We also talked about Isaac Newton, what physics is and his 1st Law of Motion. They were all a bit surprised at the amount of "school" that it takes to build a coaster.
Then the kids took their list and drew their concept coaster as a team. It turned out pretty amazing!
Next time we will focus on more of the "school" stuff and use this Physics of Roller Coasters lesson plan- starting off with making marble ramps. At the end of our rollercoaster study we will put together out Kinex Rollercoaster set and turn it into our very own 2G2R Coaster.
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