- April 25, 2024
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Teacher Jen Landau talks with Tina Eddy, as Riley Eddy, Brooke Miner, Sophya Wodchis, Cristina Calidona sit in front of their paper roller coaster the created for a STEM project. Photo by Jacque Estes
FPC Principal Dusty Sims snaps a photo of Derby Peck, Madelin Sims (his daughter) and Hailey Sands, in front of their winning paper roller coaster at Old Kings Elementary. Photo by Jacque Estes
Parents came to the unveiling of the paper roller coaster project in Jen Landau's classroom at Old Kings Elementary. Photo by Jacque Estes
Roger Bellegarde snaps a photo of his son, Caleb, and Bradd Humphrey. Photo by Jacque Estes
Genesis Santiago, Abigayle Anaturo, and Charlotte Fletcher (standing like the Statue of Liberty). stamd in front of their paper roller coaster the Cotton Candy Drop. Photo by Jacque Estes
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2jFY0mRfYGw
Caleb Bellegarde and Bradd Humphrey added humor to their STEM roller coaster project at Old Kings Elementary.
“We call it the 25 percenter,” Caleb said. “Because sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.”
It took careful navigation to walk through the classroom and around the roller coasters that had been created from nothing but paper.
“It looks like a whole lot of fun, and it is,” teacher Jen Landau told the parents who were able to come and visit the classroom for the demonstration. “There is also a whole lot of learning behind it. They have been working on four specific standards that all have to do with the force of motion, and Newton's Law – and all within two weeks.”
The students were given no specific instructions. Landau did create a roller coaster of her own to show them what the finished product could look like. They were expected to research, participate in an online discussion board with other students, share what worked and what didn't, and write a report.
The assignment also involved posting photos of their designs (they had to come up with two), and to create a roller coaster that was slow enough so it would take a marble 15 seconds to go through the turns and at least one loop.
Derby Peck, Madelin Sims, and Hailey Sands sat on the floor around their winning roller coaster as proud parents snapped photos. You didn't need a winning design to have a proud parent. Tina Eddy, a 9-1-1 Flagler County dispatcher, had just come off an overnight shift and was determined to see her daughter Riley's team project.
“She loves science anyway. She and her brother do you tube videos,” Eddy said. “It's so great to do something like this to let them use their imaginations.”
