7th Graders Design Coasters

During the study of “Force and Motion” the GCA 7th graders researched, designed, and built a “Marble Roller Coaster.” Students were required to write a paper on simple machines, draw a blue print, construct a roller coaster with at least 4 different simple machines, keep a science journal of the sequencing and problem solving they did, and demonstrate their roller coaster while answering questions from Mrs. Smith and a panel of scientists and engineers from the community. According to the National Science Standards, science inquiry is basic to all science. Students and judges alike were amazed at how different each roller coaster was. Other classes enjoyed the demonstrations as well.