N.E.R.D.S.
The Vision
The Vision
“Two-Liter Pop Bottle Rockets may well be the
GREATEST PHYSICAL SCIENCE TEACHING TOOL EVER CREATED!!”
This was the response by a group of K-12 teachers after a
recent one day inservice. Imagine a tool that can be effective
at every level, from elementary through college. The effect
is contagious for even hormone driven middle level students,
apathetic terminal science students, and you will not believe
the power it has for advanced physics students.
Societal changes and the on-going educational
reform efforts are creating new challenges for each of us.
Leaders seem to have some vision for the future that no-one
has ever seen. What does it look like, and if it is so good,
why can't you show me an example? Well 2-Liter Pop Bottle
Rockets, when combined with the latest educational reform
strategies on teaching and learning, has the power to change
children’s attitudes about learning and even rekindle
your-own child-like love of science.
Let us take you on a journey. A journey to a school where
learning is everyones goal and quality in both work and personal
relationships is the product.
In the elementary building we find whole classrooms
constructing different rocket designs. When we interrupt one
young lady, she explains that their rocket will be able to do
something that no-one else’s can. She knows because they have
been testing it and making lots of changes. The only analogy
that comes close to explaining our feelings as we walk around,
is being in a very busy bee hive where everyone has a job and is
so busy doing it that no-one even notices us. Well, not until one
little boy said, "Hey Mister, Hold this for me." The goals are
clear, an understanding of the nature of science and experiencing
many science concepts at the concrete level is obvious to everyone.
The middle level building has similar qualities of involvement
and commitment to learning. We see example after example of
students manipulating and controlling variables and excitedly seeing
their hypotheses verified or refuted. They are graphing findings and
writing reports for their portfolios. Not because they were told to
do it, but because they sincerely have a burning desire to know.
"What if" comments seem to permeate every person in the building.
Other teachers and even janitors and visitors are somehow
magnetically drawn into the room. Everyone seems to have a sense
of connectiveness and belonging. The energy of busy minds light the
room.
The high school held even more surprises. The industrial
arts, English, math, art, social studies teachers had all joined forces
with the science teacher to create an agreed upon theme for
their teaching. Even more impressive was the number of other
resources found in use throughout the building. Their were
local business experts, several university professors and even
parents all helping each other learn. And just what science were
they learning?
We asked a group of students that very question and
the reply was so exciting and rewarding. After a brief review
of their portfolio booklet here is what they said:
By working with the 2-liter bottle rocket unit we
have documented our abilities with the following concepts;
inertia, gravity, air resistance, Newton’s laws of motion,
acceleration, the relationships between work and energy,
including energy transformations, the relationship between
impulse and momentum, Hooke’s law, projectile motion, freefall
calculations, internal and external ballistics, LeChatlier
Principle, Gibb’s Free Energy as well as trigonometry, the
practice of true engineering, and experience with the nature
of science at its best.
Join us on this journey to the schools of the future where “the love of learning is caught, not taught”.
Two-liter bottle rockets are guaranteed to give your students a love of science that only process science can provide.