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Physics Tug of War
Learners set up books with rubber bands stretched between the books. When two identical books are stretched apart and released, they move back toward each other an equal distance.
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.
Heavyweight Champion: Jupiter
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In this activity, learners confront their perceptions of gravity in the solar system.
The Pull of the Planets
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In this activity, learners model the gravitational fields of planets on a flexible surface.
Dunking the Planets
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In this demonstration, learners compare the relative sizes and masses of scale models of the planets as represented by fruits and other foods.
Deep Sea Diver
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In this ocean engineering activity, learners explore buoyancy and water displacement. Then, learners design models of deep sea divers that are neutrally buoyant.
Geometry and Algebra: The Future Flight Equation
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In this activity, learners discover how NASA engineers develop experimental aircraft.
Space Stations: Beans in Space
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In this activity, learners perform 20 arm curls with cans that simulate the weight of beans on Earth versus the weights of the same number of beans on the Moon and in space.
Weighty Questions
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In this activity about humans and space travel (page 1 of PDF), learners compare and contrast the behavior of a water-filled plastic bag, both outside and inside of a container of water.
Doughy Physics
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Learners drop two different masses of play dough and observe how long it takes them to hit the ground.
Swinging Yo-Yo
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Learners build a pendulum from a yo-yo, and then design their own experiment to determine what affects the pendulum's period of swing.
Critical Load
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In this activity, learners explore the concepts of structural engineering and how to measure the critical load, or the maximum weight a structure can bear.
A Pressing Engagement
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In this quick and easy activity and/or demonstration, learners illustrate the effect of the weight of air over our heads.
Wind Tube
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In this activity, learners explore moving air and the physics of lift and drag by constructing homemade wind tunnels.
Bridge the Gap
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Learners work in groups to construct bridges using stale marshmallows and toothpicks.
Build a Borneo Glider
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In this inquiry-based activity, learners investigate the basic forces of flight as they construct their own paper glider that represents a rainforest creature from Borneo (large, tropical island in So
Moving Model Glacier
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In this goopy activity (page 2 of PDF under GPS: Glaciers Activity), learners will model glacial movement with “gak,” a white glue and liquid starch mixture.
Make a Mobile!
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In this activity, learners make mobiles to explore the concepts of balance, counterbalance, weight, and counterweight.
Airplane Wing Investigation
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This activity (located on page 3 of the PDF under GPS: Balloon Fiesta Activity) is a full inquiry investigation into Bernoulli’s principle and airplane wings.