In local science class, it’s drivers, start your … balloons?
As classmates watch, Millersburg Elementary fifth-grader Miranda Vaughn unleashes her balloon-powered vehicle across the floor during teacher John Gilley’s grand experiment. Vaughn’s homemade model easily cruised to the far side of the classroom.
When crooner Tracy Chapman sang the song “Fast Car,” she probably didn’t have the cars in mind that were buzzing about Millersburg Elementary science teacher John Gilley’s classroom Thursday, Feb. 20.
The fifth grade students were asked to design balloon-powered cars in an experiment that had pieces of science, math and writing involved, and all of it was capped off with plenty of fun, making it a winning experience for everyone involved.
According to Gilley, the experiment was all about learning Newton’s three laws of motion.
“What we did was focus on putting all of that into a hands-on project,” Gilley said amid the organized chaos that included plenty of chatter and laughter and even some cheers as the balloon-powered cars roared down the track (or in some cases puttered along). “I think one of the things I wanted to achieve was putting these kinds of difficult concepts into something they can understand a little better and making them more concrete in their minds.”
The cars featured plastic bottles or cardboard structures for bodies; wheels made of CDs, canning jar lids and anything round; and straws that helped propel the cars along when the balloons were blown up.
Students were allowed to work on their cars at school or at home and use whatever they felt would give their car the biggest advantage.
Kids worked in duos, helping to record times and distances as they worked to see how many inches per second their vehicles would go.
Gilley said each student will write a short essay on their experience, noting how well their contraption worked and what they might have done to improve its performance.
“We did do some of the work here, so I did a lot of drilling holes for wheels and helping them research ideas for axles and car body types,” Gilley said.
Gilley said the entire project from start to finish took nearly five weeks, and when race day came, there was plenty of excitement and big expectations.
“The kids were super-excited about the whole thing, and I think they were learning a lot of science and math without even thinking about it because they were having a blast,” Gilley said.
Each set of participants measured distance and time and worked the math to figure out their speed.
With some of the cars zipping to the classroom wall, a distance of 32 feet, eventually Gilley took the show to the gymnasium to allow for a bigger run, which only added to the joy and excitement.
In addition to the speed, the group talked about how friction comes into play and how force equals mass times acceleration, so the learning just kept coming. They also discussed how horsepower works and how mass affects the speed and distance of a vehicle.
“It’s a lot of concepts, a lot of science and math, and a lot of learning all rolled up into a fun experience,” Gilley said. “Making learning fun and providing something they will remember is what it’s all about.”
Gilley said he couldn’t take credit for the event, noting he learned about the experiment during a district-wide collaboration day from Lakeville Elementary teacher Jen Hopkins.
“I contacted her more than a month ago and asked if I could steal her idea, and she was thrilled that I would,” Gilley said.
So he ran with the idea, and in doing so, he created a learning moment for his fifth-graders by making little powered cars the center of attention.