Energy Transfer

In the 1850s, railways were used to move coal from one location to another using only the force of gravity and a hand-brake to slow down. By the 1870s, thrill-seekers recognized the potential fun in this gravity-driven contraption. Create a two-rail marble roller coaster. Plan the path of your marble. Embrace centripetal force to keep the marble on the track through a banked curve. Each creation is unique. Test your track and your friends.

Our Paddlewheel boat is inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci's study of water. Da Vinci envisioned boats that the future would bring, drawing them in his notebooks. Construct and test his paddlewheel boat. Our design is powered by a rubber band. During the warmer months, you can test it out in our water lab for the complete experience. 

A popular project that teaches game design (beginnings, middles and ends), logic (rewards for difficulty), marble movement (caroms, momentum) and creative design (good games must still attract players.) A rare exploration of the work of play. Use marbles, a launcher, hurdles, and more to devise and personalize your own Pinball Machine. Figure out your own rules, scoring, and goals. Play with friends, test, adjust and keep going.

Explore the ancient history and challenging mechanics of catapults. Rubber bands power this model. Experiment with the concepts of force and motion and test your projects out with varying degrees of power by changing the number of rubber bands used and the position of the ping pong balls. 

Safe for people and places when used with the ping pong ball provided.

Inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci’s self propelled cart design in 1478, students construct cars powered by rubber bands and measure their performance. They will test their cars, make alterations and predictions. Students will gain lively insights into the mechanics, measurement and math of motion. Force and Motion, experimentation, and design all come together to make new discoveries. Great for a followup program on creative elaboration. Exploration and problem solving become obvious when a student has to question why someone's car went further or faster.

Electricity can be hard to understand. Sometimes it is easier to understand something by building it. Construct a simple circuit in the form of a house. Assemble a battery pack to power your house. Connect it in a loop with switches and lights (incandescent and LED). 

The English Scientist, Neil Downie, has written three volumes of Saturday Science Projects. His designs are remarkably original and thoughtful, explaining the math and science of every project. Sometimes you have to strip away all the non-essential parts to see an idea at work. Neil Downie proposes a clever study of the exchange of speed for force. A second array of pulleys float between input pulleys and the output pulley. An elegant display of force in motion. Counting on friends: what can your little acrobats tell you about the changes in speed or power (torque)? nspired by: Neil A. Downie Vacuum Bazookas, Electric Rainbow Jelly Princeton University Press.© 2001, p 121