National Science Foundation: Science of the Olympics: Engineering in Sports

It's not often that you come across a clever laboratory activity that is both imaginative and comprehensive! Using M&M's and Reese's peanut butter candies to represent two different clam species, young biologists test for "relative...

How did our universe really begin? Explore the Science Big Bang Theory and Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) with this multiple activity-based instructional activity that demonstrates that the increase of density due to the decrease of...

Speed skating is all about force and movement - what, in physics, are known as Newton's First Three Laws of Motion. J.R. Celski, a U.S. speed skater, and physicist George Tuthill of Plymouth State University explain.

Using examples of athletes and sports involved in the 2012 Summer Olympics, these 9 videos demonstrate aspects of sports which are influenced by engineering and technology.

Olympic athletes have long worn special competition clothing to gain an edge. Science and technology continue to improve on what they wear. Hear from Olympians Chad Hedrick, Steve Holcomb and Erin Hamlin, and Melissa Hines, the director...

One of the most popular team sports in the Winter Olympics is hockey. More than just a physical game, for scientists, it's a showcase for physics on ice - especially when it comes to the slapshot. Three-time Olympian Julie Chu, Thomas...

In skiing events like the downhill, slalom or ski jump, it's often the skis that are bound to an athlete's feet - and the materials used to make them - that give these athletes an edge over the competition. U.S. Ski Team members Julia...

Every four years, we watch the stakes for Olympic figure skaters get higher, as they try to increase rotation in the air with their triple axels and quadruple toe loops. How do they do that? It's a scientific principle that Olympic...

Curling has been in the Winter Olympics for a while now, but it still seems a little strange to most of us. John Shuster, the captain - or "skip" - of the U.S. Curling Team in the Vancouver Winter Olympics, explains this unusual sport,...

To get "max air" off the half-pipe without losing their balance, snowboarders might want to check out this experiment that Paul Doherty, a senior scientist at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, cooked up, using a skateboard and a glass...