Outdoor Classroom S.T.E.M Activities
The Outdoor Classroom can be an exciting and
educational time for students. Make the most of the
instructional opportunities available. The
activities
were written to focus on interesting aspects of various
rides at Six Flags Fiesta Texas.
Various information
and assistance will be available at the STEM center.
This is
an activity that tasks students with observing
multiple rides in the park and identifying
phenomena.
A Walk in the Park
This document
will give some insight into electronic data collection and
analysis. Students may want to review this before
attempting other
activities. graphingclues.pdf
Dr.
Diabolical's Cliffhanger is one of the newest rides.
Here is an activity to analyze the ride.
Dr.D Cliffhanger.pdf
Students may want to use the app
Graphical
Analysis from Vernier for their phone.
Go by the STEM center for assistance if needed.
Here is a Graphical Analysis
file with ride data.
Dr. D
Cliffhanger copy.gambl
Here is a video of the train at the
bottom of the lift hill. Students may also take
their own videos. Students can use the video to
estimated the
velocity of the train at the bottom of
the first hill. Assume 30
frames/sec. Dr. D.mp4
STEM activities are available
for Elementary, Middle School and High School
students. Students will answer short questions and
find specific rides that match established criteria
and data. This may be used in conjunction with or as
an alternative to the traditional workbook.
Information and assistance will be available at the
STEM Center. There is also an activity at the STEM
Center to match various graphs to their corresponding
rides.
Here is the Elementary version.
Here is the
Middle School version.
Here is the
High School version.
The Outdoor Classroom Workbook is available
with a variety of activities that STEM
students can conduct related to rides at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. No
specialized equipment is required. Students
will need to record observations, estimations
and various time
aspects of the rides. There will not be enough time for
students to complete everything, so the
individual teacher should choose what best
suits the needs of their students. This
workbook is quite extensive.
Thanks go to
Clarence Bakken of California for his help and
inspiration. He got me hooked on using an
amusement park as a STEM laboratory. I
hope you enjoy your day of fun with science,
technology, engineering, mathematics, and
discovery at Six Flags
Fiesta Texas! Clarence's book
can be a valuable resource.
Bakken,
C. (2011) Amusement
Park Physics, 2nd ed. American Association of
Physics Teachers. ISBN 978-1-931024-12-9