At a glance
The Laws of Physics is a project of three or four 60-minute visits for grades 4 to 6, inspired by Isaac Newton’s apple. Students fight gravity, or put it to work, in hands-on building workshops.
They discover how potential energy turns into kinetic energy, how to cushion a fall and the families of simple machines: lever, inclined plane, pulley, winch, screw, gear and wedge. The project moves through kinetic energy, simple machines, then the egg drop parachute or the catapult.
Once upon a time, a great scientist was napping under a tree when an apple fell on his head…
Instead of shouting “Ouch!”, he said: “Hmm, that gives me an idea!”
Your physicists fight gravity, or put it to work, in hands-on building workshops.
They discover how potential energy turns into kinetic energy, how to cushion a fall, and the families of simple machines (lever, inclined plane, pulley, winch, screw, gear, wedge).
Could there be an Isaac Newton among them?
How it runs:
Three-visit project:
- Visit 1: Kinetic energy (60 minutes).
- Visit 2: Simple machines (60 minutes).
- Visit 3: Egg parachute or catapult (60 minutes).
Four-visit project:
- Visit 1: Kinetic energy (60 minutes).
- Visit 2: Simple machines (60 minutes).
- Visit 3: Egg parachute (60 minutes).
- Visit 4: Catapult (60 minutes).
Learning goals (elementary)
- Describe how energy changes from one form to another (potential to kinetic energy).
- Describe and test the effect of gravity on a (plastic) egg in free fall.
- Identify simple machines and recognize what they are used for (lever, inclined plane, screw, pulley, winch, wheel).
- Use measuring tools (spring scale).
- Tell the difference between mass and weight.
