Physics Activities

Ball Launcher Challenge

In this activity, students will create a ball launcher out of common materials. From this activity, students will learn about the different forms of energy and projectile motion that causes the ball to launch and fly through the air.

 

Friction Simulation

Friction occurs when two objects make contact leading to a resistance to slide past each other. In this simulation activity, students will observe friction at the molecular level to observe its interactions that lead to increased resistance and energy.

 

Gravity and Orbits

In this activity, students will observe how gravitation motion controls how the planets orbit around the solar system. Students can then alter different variables from the planet's size to gravitational force to observe how the orbiting motion of the planets changes.

Energy Skate Park

In this simulation, students will explore the topics of gravity, friction, and kinetic and potential energies. Students will explore an interactive skatepark that allows them to tinker with forces and see how they interact.

 

Make a Balloon Powered Car

In this activity students will learn about forces on a car by building an air powered vehicle. Students will group up to model and build their own car, and adjust it to test speed and endurance against other designs.

 

Black Holes

In this fun lab, students get to see how black holes work with simple household objects. By simulating a gravity field, students can see how planets, stars, and light are all affected by the gravity of a black hole.

Fourier Waves Simulation

Wavelengths are a common phenomena that exist in light, sound, and motion. In this simulation activity, students will observe the behavior of different wavelengths to study their different characteristics both visually and mathematically.

 

Bending Light Simulation

In this simulation activity, students will observe the nature of how light bends between two media and how its wavelength alters when utilizing different types of media. Students will then apply Snell's law to understand the relationship between the light and media.