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The Science of Fun

The Science of Fun . 25 Years of Amusement Park Physics. The Origins of Amusement Park Physics. In 1977 Carolyn Sumner at the Houston Science Museum created a summer program for elementary students.

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The Science of Fun

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  1. The Science of Fun 25 Years of Amusement Park Physics

  2. The Origins of Amusement Park Physics • In 1977 Carolyn Sumner at the Houston Science Museum created a summer program for elementary students. • The program wanted to teach young students about space and space travel. She wanted to create a way where students could experience what an astronaut would feel on a rocket ship without having to actually launch them into space. • She felt that taking them to a local amusement park was the best way to do this.

  3. The Origins of Amusement Park Physics • Carolyn presented information about her program a couple of years later at the NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) Conference. • A number of physics teachers attended that information session and realized that this was too good an idea to be limited to elementary students at a summer camp. • An informal organization of these teachers was formed and Amusement Park Physics was born. They shared ideas and activity sheets for amusement park rides. • My job was to create sheets for Marriott’s Great American in San Francisco. That Amusement Park Physics program began in 1982.

  4. The Origins of Amusement Park Physics • In 1987, I moved to Vancouver with my family and was pleased to find out that there was an amusement park. • I approached Playland staff and they agreed to allowing secondary physics students to come to the amusement park on a special day in May. • The first year we about 400 students attend. • In 1990, we added a program for Junior Secondary students and in 1993 we added an elementary version.

  5. Amusement Park Physics Today • 2012 marks the 25th Anniversary of the Amusement Park Physics program. We now have 7 different packages of materials that match the IRPs for the following classes: • The Science of Fun (English elementary version) • La Science du Plaisir (French elementary version) • Science 8 • Science 10 • Chemistry 11/12 (new in 2012) • Biology 12 (new in 2011) • Physics 11/12

  6. What the program tries to do • The purpose of the Amusement Park Physics program is to provide students with practice in applying to real situations, some of the concepts learned in the classroom. • It use experiential learning in an authentic setting to perform scientific investigations. The investigations are linked to the learning outcomes in each specific class. • The investigation involves: qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis and instrument measurements. These three approaches are brought together in a holistic approach to learning.

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