A Smart(Phone) Contest
This year many Physics Day activities focus on the use of Smartphone Apps to turn students loose on a whole range of new activities at Lagoon, in the classroom, around the school, and around town. This contest chalanges students to come up with creative ways to use something teenagers are experts at-cell phones-to inspire experiential learning in a really cool amusement park environment.
A tremendous variety of Apps are already available for little or no cost that transform Smartphones into mobile physics laboratories allowing experimentation virtually everywhere and anytime. A few such Apps are listed below. Data can readily be logged, plotted, stored and transmitted for further analysis. And amusement park physics represents just the tip of an iceberg of possible ways these Apps can revolutionize physics learning.
Contest Rules:
- Students are to create an original activity using an existing Smartphone App that focuses on some physics application at Lagoon.
- Judging will emphasize creative uses of Smartphone Apps and the explanations of the physical principles illustrated in the entry.
- Students are to prepare a 1-2 page description of the activity. This should include details of the Smartphone App used, data from Lagoon, and a description of the physical principles. Be sure to list student and teacher names, whether it is a high school or middle school entry, and the school name and address. Click the “Register” button to the left for a sumbission form that may be used.
- Each entry can have one to three students on a team.
- Entries must be turned by 2:30 at Davis Pavilion.
- Prizes in the High School and Middle School categories will be given at the Awards Ceremony.
Questions? Contact Us at physicsdayusu@gmail.com