Roller Coaster fun WITHOUT the Roller Coaster??

Wow, this may have been the best Make It Work program yet!! With 17 fourth through sixth grade boys and girls in attendance...well, let's just say it was an exciting time. The topic of choice: "the scream machine" or technically the roller coaster.

We started off by viewing part of a DVD (thanks Noel for the tutorial!) entitled Thrill Rides which made you "feel" as if you were really on the roller coaster!! (Let's just say my stomach didn't have a clue that we weren't.) Some kids were even putting their hands in the air when we went down our first hill. I know it's a library, but I promise the screams weren't too loud.

Next it was time for some actual learning...potential vs. kinetic energy, demonstrations on friction and incline...blah, blah, blah. Next stop...become a roller coaster engineer and make your own SAFE and FUN scream machine using foam pipe insulation (cut in half), a little masking tape, a table, a marble, and your endless imagination!! "But how?" you ask. Tape the insulation onto the top of a table (on its side) to form the track of a coaster. Make sure to include a couple hills and turns, as well as a loop just for good measure. Then test with a marble. If the marble flies off at any point, then back to the drawing board to tweak it. Test, tweak, test, tweak...I think you get the picture! These kids had so much fun they did not want to leave!! Many wanted to recreate it at home.

Sounds like a fun indoor winter activity to me! And to think this whole program only cost $13.99 for the pipe insulation from Home Depot. Not only is this activity fun and educational, but it is also cheap! (Pictures coming soon!!)