Amusement
Park Math and Science support material from NASA
Each spring, NASA Glenn Research Center
in Cleveland, Ohio supports Math and Science Days at nearby amusement
parks with educational activities such as poster displays and
hands-on demonstrations.
In addition, our regular exhibits, the NASA Central Operation
of Resources for Educators (CORE) and Space Trivia Game will be there
on selected days.
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Topic Index
Comments on the Physics Day products
and this web page are welcome. Send them to Nancy
Hall at
NASA Glenn Research Center.
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Poster files to download:
Many educators have requested the PDF versions of some popular posters which have been displayed at the amusement parks. Draft versions of these posters are now available here.
Acceleration Match Game
This is a game which involves
matching acceleration traces measured on amusement park
rides with a description of possible rides. Two versions
of this popular poster are available based on measurements
taken at a park near NASA Glenn in Cleveland, Ohio. [Revised:
5/17/2011]
- The Acceleration Match Game Poster [1 MB
file] is based on rides at the Cedar Point Amusement
Park in Sandusky, Ohio. The associated Student
Worksheet can be printed
for students to use in the park. The Answer
Key may be obtained by educators via e-mail
request from your school account.
- A generalized
version [1 MB file] of the Cedar
Point poster (which doesn't name Cedar Point in the
title) and its Student
Worksheet are also available.
- The Acceleration Match Game Poster [0.7 MB
file] is based on rides at the Kings Island Amusement
Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. The associated Student
Worksheet can be printed for students to use in the
park. The Answer Key may be obtained by educators
via e-mail
request from your school account.
NASA Drop Tower Comparison Poster
This poster [144 KB file] compares the height
of the microgravity drop towers at NASA Glenn Research Center
with the heights of popular rides at the Cedar Point amusement
park.[Revised:
3/12/2008]
- Take a look at the 2.2
Second Drop Tower in which experiments
fall 24 meters. The drop tower, provides 2.2 seconds
of microgravity.
- Take a look at the Zero-Gravity
Research Facility in
which experiments fall 132 meters for 5 seconds of
microgravity. This is NASA's premier facility for conducting
ground based microgravity research and is the largest
facility of its kind in the United States. It has been
operational since 1966.
NASA Roller Coaster in the Sky Poster
This poster compares roller coasters with NASA's KC-135 microgravity research aircraft. This aircraft flies successive parabolic maneuvers to give 15 seconds of microgravity conditions to researchers on-board. These microgravity intervals are interspersed with pull-outs at about 2-g's. Riders can experience similar feelings of alternating light-weight and heavy-weight on roller coaster hills.
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Microgravity Demonstrator
description files to download:
We use two simple devices to demonstrate
microgravity concepts on the midway during Physics Day.
With these how-to guides, it is possible to construct these
devices for your own use. A description of how they work
is also included.
1. Leaky water bottle
2. Balloon popper
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Defying
Gravity Article about Amusement Park Physics
An article and videos about NASA support of amusement park physics.
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Cleveland, Ohio-area amusement park home pages
Many other amusement parks also sponsor
formal Physics Days so it is worthwhile to check with a
local park. It is also possible for a school or individual
educator to plan their own physics day at a local park
using available guides and books on the subject.
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NOTE: Mention of commercial companies
is not an endorsement by NASA nor the U.S. government.
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