Mini Science Olympics
Today I tried a science olympics event in one of my classes.
There was a field trip in grade eight, but not everyone went. There was seven remaining students, all boys. I thought this was perfect timing to try out a science olymipcs event. It was awesome! I used the "Bridge that gap!" event. Hardly any prep work - just some straws and masking tape. I split up my students into two teams, and got them to compete for the bridge that held up the most weight. I gave them forty minutes to work on the birdge in teams, and the rest of the class was for judging (seeing which bridge held the most weight).
This is a very typical setup for a science olympics event. But what a success! I have never seen some of these kids this engaged (even during labs). They were on task 100% of the time, and even stayed afterschool (because we ran over-time) to witness the result. The science olympics will definitely be a regular thing in my classes, and I will try to go school-wide!
I'm proud to say that I won
I'm proud to say that I won the competition hands down and I think I had 20+ marbles whereas the second place guy had 7 marbles. The whole idea is to have the largest surface area something my dad taught me at home, so I can't take all the credit at being so brilliant! -- like a barge.
Buoyancy
I have another idea for a Science Olympic competition. Unfortunately, it's not an original idea. I am stealing it from a competition we had in grade 9 (in M. Painchaud's class). We were given a piece of aluminium foil (I think it was something like 5"x5") and tape. We had to make a boat out of the aluminium foil and tape that would float on water and hold the most marbles. I'm proud to say that I won the competition hands down (I think I had 20+ marbles whereas the second place guy had 7 marbles). The whole idea is to have the largest surface area (something my dad taught me at home, so I can't take all the credit at being so brilliant!) - like a barge. Anyway, I don't know if you teach buoyancy in grade 8, but it's certainly a fun competition you can have that can really teach kids what makes things float!
That's a good idea! We
That's a good idea! We already did buoyancy with the grade eights, but it would be fun none the less.
Today I did the same bridge thing with my grade 11 physics class, and it worked just as well. The structures were more refined and looked more like real bridges, but finally, the grade eights won in terms of "load to weight of bridge" ratio.
Competition always adds fun!