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Watch It Fly
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Learners observe projectile motion by launching wooden balls off of a table top. They set up a rubber-band launcher so that each ball experiences a consistent amount of force.
Creepy Crawlers
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Trick your family and friends with this creepy crawler that moves up and down. In this activity, learners construct a circuit and motor device that will move a homemade spider in a spooky way.
Beating Gravity
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In this demonstration, learners watch as a device drops a ball into a cup without touching the ball or cup, even though the ball and cup are virtually side-by-side.
Playing with Parachutes
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In this activity, learners explore how parachutes are used to slow down moving objects. Learners work in teams of "engineers" to design and build their own parachutes out of everyday items.
Parabola Basketball
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In this activity, learners build mini-basketball courts and explore the laws of physics. Learners discover that everything you throw or shoot on earth travels in a parabola.
Magnetic Marble Run
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Learners explore magnetism and motion as they build a simple marble run. Learners test different arrangements of plastic and cardboard tubes, bottles, and cups on a magnetic board.
Newton's Cradle
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Build your own version of the classic physics toy using simple materials.
Tinkering with Tops
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In this activity, learners explore the history, design and motion of spinning tops. Learners work in teams of "engineers" to design and build their own tops out of everyday items.
Hand Spin Helicopter
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In this activity, learners build helicopters and launchers using wooden dowels and scrap paper. Use this activity to explore rotational motion and kinetic and potential energy.
Glider
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In this activity, learners construct a paper glider to experiment with aerodynamic forces.
Marble Drop Game
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Build your own version of a favorite carnival game, in which a marble races down a maze consisting of rows of nails.
Handheld Water Bottle Rocket & Launcher
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In this activity, learners build handheld rockets and launchers out of PVC pipes and plastic bottles. Use this activity to demonstrate acceleration, air pressure, and Newton's Laws of Motion.
Stomp Rocket
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In this activity, learners build rockets and shoot them into the air by stomping on the plastic bottle launchers.
Woodpecker
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In this activity, learners construct a traditional handicraft toy that illustrates a motion commonly associated with violins and earthquakes.
FlyBy Math: Distance-Rate-Time Problems in Air Traffic Control
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In this small-group activity, learners assume the roles of pilots, air traffic controllers, and NASA scientists to solve five Air Traffic Control (ATC) problems.
Pitch, Roll and Yaw: The Three Axes of Rotation
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In this activity (page 87 of the PDF), learners move their bodies to better understand the three axes of rotation: pitch, roll and yaw.
Motorized Balancing Toy
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In this activity, learners build a toy that flies in circles. This activity introduces learners to center of mass, torque, and rotational motion.
Make a Mobile!
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In this activity, learners make mobiles to explore the concepts of balance, counterbalance, weight, and counterweight.
Building a Magic Carpet
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In this activity (page 89 of the PDF), learners compare and contrast pitch and roll motions by using a Magic Carpet maze similar to one that was used for Neurolab investigations about microgravity.
Building a 3-D Space Maze: Escher Staircase
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In this activity (page 95 of the PDF), learners create Escher Staircase models similar to those that were used by Neurolab's Spatial Orientation Team to investigate the processing of information about