Fun Physics for Kids: Motion, Force, Energy-Physics Is All Around Us (4 Weeks)
What's included
4 live meetings
4 in-class hoursClass Experience
This course combines 4 of our most popular physics courses in order to engage students in experiments that in 4 different areas of this area of science. The experiments and projects have been designed to illustrate the principles being discussed while providing a hands-on experience for the students to experience how physics plays a role in our every day lives. Week 1 - All About Air: Students investigate the properties of air using balls, balloons, bags and even a hair dryer! Participants will learn that air takes up space, has weight and exerts pressure. Includes a discussion of Bernoulli’s Principle and flying objects! Week 2 - Electricity & Magnetism: Electricity comes alive in demonstrations using a Van de Graaff generator and Tesla coil. Students discover the basics of electricity and magnetism through hands-on experiments. Concepts are reinforced as students complete an electrical circuit. Week 3 - Force & Friction: Students will gain an enduring understanding of the concepts of force, motion, and friction through a series of hands-on activities. They will participate in hypothesis formulation, data collecting and problem solving while utilizing concepts of push/pull, momentum, conservation and transference of energy. Each child will create a project that illustrates these ideas. Week 4 - Optical Conclusions - Inside the Mind's Eye: Students learn how our eyes perceive light. Experiments show how light can be reflected, refracted and filtered through lenses, prisms, and spectrometers. Students make will learn how to make a thaumatrope.
Learning Goals
This course was designed to be delivered in a classroom setting and provides information that supports the following New York State Next Generation Science Learning Standards.
1-PS4-2. Make observations (firsthand or from media) to construct an evidence-based account that objects can be seen only when illuminated.
1-PS4-3. Plan and conduct an investigation to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light.
2-PS1-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.
3-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.
3-PS2-2. Make observations and/or measurements of an object’s motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.
3-PS2-3. Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.
3-PS2-4. Define a simple design problem that can be solved by applying scientific ideas about magnets.
4-PS3-1. Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object.
4-PS3-2. Make observations to provide evidence that energy is conserved as it is transferred and/or converted from one form to another. 4-PS3-3. Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.
4-PS3-4. Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.
4-PS4-2. Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen.
4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
4-LS1-2. Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information in different ways.
5-PS1-1. Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.
5-PS1-3. Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.
5-PS2-1. Support an argument that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down.
MS-PS2-1. Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.
MS-PS2-2. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
MS-PS2-3. Ask questions about data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.
MS-PS2-5. Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.
MS-PS3-1. Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.
MS-PS3-6. Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred by electric currents.
MS-PS4-2. Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
This class features a demonstration of levitating a hollow ball with a hair dryer. If you, as a parent, feel comfortable allowing your student to use a hair dryer or you are to help them, please feel free to try the experiment. If not, your student can simply view the experiment on screen as the instructor demonstrates.
Supply List
Some of the classes will also require you to print our files from the classroom and cut them out for your student to use during class. Week 1: Optional - Hair dryer, ping pong ball (or light hollow ball) for demonstration of Bernoulli’s Principle Golf ball/bouncy ball, balloon, empty soda/water bottle, 2 inch strip of paper Week 2: Aluminum foil, tape, D-cell battery, small single light bulb (suck as from a flashlight or holiday light string), magnets for experiment, 3-4 objects to experiment with (chose some that should react to the magnets and some that shouldn't such as utensils, tweezers, baking tray, jar lid, paper clip, non-metal spoon, plastic toys, glass, rubber) Week 3: Rounds for humming toy (paper and cardboard or cardstock cut out into 10" rounds or two dinner size paper plates), string, pens, decorating materials (markers are the easiest), glue stick. Week 4: Optional items for class experiments: prism, flashlight, mirror, laser, cup with water, pencil, spoon. Materials for Thaumatrope project: Image printed on card stock and cut out, 2 thin rubber bands or string, hole puncher (alternately if you don't have a hole puncher you can use a pencil and tape)
1 file available upon enrollment
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Teacher expertise and credentials
The Long Island Science Center has been providing STEM enrichment programs for more than 25 years. Our programs are developed and delivered with Next Generation Science Standards in mind. Our Program Director, who has taught with us for more than 10 years, will be conducting the classes for this program. She is excited to share her knowledge and inspire your students to ask questions and answer them with confidence.
Reviews
Live Group Class
$60
for 4 classes1x per week, 4 weeks
60 min
Completed by 85 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 7-11
4-18 learners per class