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SCIENCE WITH A TWIST
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From left to right, Matthew Deal Dustin Thailing and Jesse New work on their coaster during roller coaster contest at Girard Junior High School. 7th graders participated in the event Friday.
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Arielle Terry measures one of the hills on a roller coaster she and her teammates called the Neon Nerd during roller coaster contest.
Girard students roll with their ideas
By LINDA M. LINONIS
Vindicator Staff Writer
The requirement to meet a state standard in science propelled the assignment for 119 seventh-graders at Girard Junior/Senior High School to design and build model roller coasters.
The result was a demonstration of creativity, application of math skills and exhilaration when the “car,” a marble, traveled from start to finish through various forms of pipe.
The floor of the little gym at the school Friday afternoon was filled with students, and many parents watched from the stands.
Along the way, the students learned the difference between potential and kinetic energy and the properties of both.
“This is about inquiry-based science,” said Jennifer Nicholas, seventh-grade science teacher who orchestrated the organized chaos in the gym. “This is a hands-on application of science.”
Nicholas said the goal was for students to learn about and understand the principles behind energy.
“Potential energy is stored energy. Using gravity, it turns into kinetic energy,” Nicholas said.
The teacher said students used black pipe, foam insulation or clear plastic tubing to create the roller coaster. Their model coasters could be as long as 15 feet or 455 centimeters and had to include two hills.
“They had to learn the hills had to get smaller,” Nicholas said, noting students had to figure out proper height and spacing to keep the marble moving to the end.
The teacher said the project motivates students to use an array of subjects such as science, math, language arts and skills such as creativity and teamwork.
“They have to divide the distance by the time to discover the speed,” Nicholas said of the math component.
The project kept students, anticipating the soon-to-come last day of school, occupied and engaged.
“You can’t teach a bored student,” Nicholas said. “This has kept them focused.”
Students worked on the assignment daily for the last 31‚Ñ2 weeks.
Teams were made up of three to four students, Nicholas said. All the work was done in class.
“This is 100 percent participation,” she said of the project. “And it couldn’t be done without parents’ support; they provide the supplies.”
Students, who picked their own teams, came up with such coaster names as Neon Nerds, Pink Falls, Hello Kitty Coaster, Pink Zebra, Pink Panthers, The Indian, Pinball, Candyland, Nuclear Force and Rainbow Ride.
The Pink Panthers team of Taylor Harshbarger, Tina Boyles and Michelle Irwin, all 13, and Taylor Crown, 12, showed their creative side with black sparkly T-shirts with Pink Panther written on them.
“We really learned how to work together,” Michelle said.
She and Tina said they came up with idea to draw cat noses and whiskers on their faces.
“We learned the difference between potential and kinetic energy and why you lose energy,” Taylor Harshbarger said.
The Pinball team included Dustin Thailing and Matthew Deal, both 13, and Jesse New, 14.
“There’s a funny story,” Dustin said. “We kept making blueprints of our design but losing them. So we had to make new ones.”
“But the new ones always worked,” Jesse said.
“This made us socialize more and we had to work as a team,” Dustin said.
All 13, Arielle Terry, Megan Braden and Michaela Bundy called themselves the Neon Nerds.
“We had this bright-colored paper,” Megan said of how their project started.
“We called ourselves Neon Nerds because we liked how it sounded,” Arielle said.
“But most of all, we learned about energy,” Michaela said.
Mike Delbene, seventh-grade math teacher, was among judges who included other teachers and staff members and some freshman students who had made roller coasters.
“We ask the students questions ... testing their knowledge,” Delbene said of his role as a judge.
Principal Louise Mason also served as a judge.
“This is a wonderful experience for the students to implement what they have learned. The community is so supportive,” she said.
linonis@vindy.com