Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Think Fast!

For Students 3rd - 5th
Are you a piano player or a video gamer? Then you might have a quick reaction time that can come in handy while playing sports. Find out how to measure your reaction time and compare it to your friends and family with this fun experiment.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Tightening the Turns in Speed Skating

For Students 9th - 10th
Fast turns around the track can become your laboratory tests in these experiments, whether you skate on ice, wood, or pavement. The goal is to determine which type of turns are best in a race - tight, medium, or wide - and then to figure...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Balancing Act: Finding Your Center of Gravity

For Students 9th - 10th
Like to have the balance of a tightrope walker? Try the more close - to - the - ground balancing test in this easy experiment to learn a few trade secrets of the high wire experts. In this project, you'll find your center of gravity and...
Website
Exploratorium

Exploratorium: Museum of Science, Art and Perception

For Students 9th - 10th
This museum provides numerous online exhibits about everything from the science of sports to the Hubble Telescope. Each exhibit includes learning ideas, fun activities, articles, and learning games.
Lesson Plan
Children's Museum

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis: Sports Science and Wellness

For Teachers 4th - 6th
This unit of study contains three lessons, each with three experiences that may be taught together or individually. Each lesson will connect to science and/or math standards, along with a health standard or sports connection.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Career Profile: Athletic Trainer

For Students 9th - 10th
Summarizes the important work of an athletic trainer. This Science Buddies site lays out the requirements needed to become an athletic trainer, as well as the education and job description. Included are interviews with people who have...
Activity
Exploratorium

Exploratorium: Skateboard Science

For Students 3rd - 8th
This site is on the science and art of skateboard design, including equipment, tricks, glossary of terms, and a live webcast of a skateboard performance.
Website
Exploratorium

Exploratorium: The Science of Hockey

For Students 3rd - 8th
If you love hockey - or are just curious about hockey - you will really like this site. There is a lot of information about the components of hockey. You can learn what equipment is necessary, how slapshots are made, and how to skate...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Under Pressure: Ball Bouncing Dynamics

For Students 6th - 8th
Many sports use a ball in some way or another. We throw them, dribble them, hit them, kick them, and they always bounce back. What makes a ball so bouncy? In this experiment you can investigate the effect of air pressure on ball bouncing.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: How Fast Can You Shoot a Hockey Puck?

For Students 6th - 8th
In this project, you'll need: a puck, a hockey stick, a tape measure, at least one helper with a stopwatch and an empty rink. Have your friend start the watch just as you make contact with the puck, and stop it when the puck hits the...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies:brain Body Connection: Can Exercise Make Our Brains Work Better?

For Students 3rd - 6th
We all know physical exercise is important to keeping our bodies fit. But how important is physical exercise to your brain? In other words, is there any connection between an active body and increased brain power? This is an easy project...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Asymmetric Dimple Patterns and Golf Ball Flight

For Students 9th - 10th
Have you ever wondered why golf balls have a pattern of dimples on their surface? The dimples are important for determining how air flows around the ball when it is in flight. The dimple pattern, combined with the spin imparted to the...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Golf Clubs, Loft Angle, and Distance

For Students 9th - 10th
If your idea of a great weekend morning is taking some practice swings at a driving range, or heading out to the links to play a round, this could be a good project for you. This project is designed to answer the question, what is the...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Tee Time: How Does Tee Height Affect Driving Distance?

For Students 9th - 10th
If you're an avid golfer, this might be a fun project for you. When you're setting up to tee off out on the course, how much attention do you pay to putting the tee in the ground? The height of the tee can affect both where in the swing...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Back and Forth to Go Forward: A Snake on Wheels?

For Students 9th - 10th
Have you ever ridden on a Roller Racer or Plasma Car? These are ride-on toys that you move ahead by moving the steering mechanism back and forth. You've probably seen skateboarders "slaloming" on level ground to keep rolling, it's...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: She Shoots, She Scores!

For Students 6th - 8th
While watching an ice hockey game, have you ever wondered what differentiates a good player from a great player? For sure, the great player is athletically superior to the good player. But maybe it is a combination of athleticism and...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Jumping Distance

For Students 9th - 10th
With this Science Buddies experiment, you will see if you can jump farther if you increase the distance you run before you jump The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract, objective, and...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Heart Health: How Does Heart Rate Change With Exercise?

For Students 6th - 8th
Your heart starts beating before you are born and keeps right on going through your whole life. Over an average lifetime, the human heart beats more than 2.5 billion times. Keeping your heart healthy means eating right, not smoking, and...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Baseball Bat Debate: What's Better, Wood or Aluminum?

For Students 9th - 10th
Science and math abound in baseball. In this project, you can produce some interesting baseball statistics of your own and perhaps settle a long-standing debate. You'll set up experiments at your local playing field to find out which...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Are More Expensive Golf Balls Worth It?

For Students 9th - 10th
There is a bewildering selection of different golf balls to choose from for playing the game. Some less expensive, some more expensive, all with different claims for the advantages they will bring to your game. This project can help you...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: The Physics of Cheating in Baseball

For Students 9th - 10th
This week-long project asks you to examine the density of certain materials, such as "corked" baseball bats and regular baseball bats, and whether they can cause a ball to travel different distances.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Keeping Up

For Students 3rd - 5th
Do you ever feel like you need to walk faster than your parents just to keep up with them? This is because of the difference in leg length between you and your parents. In this experiment you will test if the height of a person is...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Power Kicks: The Physics of Martial Arts

For Students 9th - 10th
If the discipline, precision, and power of martial arts is your bag, try this project out for size. You won't be sparring with any opponent other than a swinging kick bag, but you'll learn a few powerful lessons about the physics of...
Article
Other

The Big Think: The Brutal Physics of Football

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes some changes that have taken place in football to make the game safer, and includes two videos where scientists explain the physics behind football and the importance of designing good safety equipment, especially for head...