Hands On Physics

Sophie's STEM class has been learning all about the laws of physics the last few weeks and she has had to do a number of hands on builds or experiments. 

Here is a truss bridge she made out of popsicle sticks.

It is strong enough to hold a number of past years' Pinewood derby cars on it.  I love that she decided to us the colored popsicle sticks. It makes the bridge far more interesting when it has the colors of the rainbow.

Here is a marble run she worked on. We used tubes of pipe insulation and ran a marble through several lengths.

She had to include a hill and loop 

and a break in the track. 

The marble had to be able to travel through the entire loop and break and finish all in one go. This took us quite a bit of time to get the marble to complete the course consistently. Good thing we have so many perfect building materials availiable to make different parts of this marble coaster.

Lots of fun studying the laws of motion and about potential and kenetic energy.