COME ON PEOPLE, FOCUS
Students have enjoyed an adrenalin-charged lesson in Newton’s Laws of Motion at iFly Year 7
Miami State High School
IS IT a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Miami State High School’s Year 7 Stellar Academic students learning to fly like Superman.
Miami’s Year 7 Stellar class learned what it is like to reach terminal velocity at 200km/h without jumping out of a plane.
The students had the privilege at iFly in Surfers Paradise, an indoor skydiving tourist attraction, as part of their extension science experiment, which was made possible with the assistance of the University of Queensland’s involvement in the Miami Valued Partners program.
UQ assisted in the part sponsorship for the entry ticket for the students who attended the adrenalin-charged excursion.
Miami’s Year 7 science class has been investigating forces and their effects. The students’ extension project requires them to design an object that meets several design briefs (such as being aerodynamic) when tested in the class wind tunnel.
At iFly the students saw how various objects such as a basketball, tennis ball, football, dodgeball and water reacted when the wind tunnel forces were exerted upon them.
The best part of the experiment for Troy Ottaway was when the water turned into a million little droplets that looked like they had frozen in time.
“It was almost like fireworks
happening right in front of our eyes. It was like nothing we had seen before,” he said.
The aim of the iFly excursion was to help students deepen their understanding of forces, broaden their mindset in finding different ways to explore and solve a problem, and build confidence in trying and testing new ideas.
Junior secondary head of department Michelle Flynn said the real-life application of Newton’s Laws of Motion provided the opportunity for students to “use the innovation process of think, make, try and refine”.
“They learned about what makes certain shapes and materials more effective than others and how to use these in their designs,” she said.
The students became part of the experiment when they each got to fly. While in flight they felt what it was like to feel Newton’s laws in action.
Year 7 student Matthew Maher said he was fascinated by the engineering behind the purpose-built facility. “There isn’t a fan at the bottom of the wind tunnel but rather two fans at the top of the building that suck the air upwards,” he said.
The students also attended an iFly science session with Garry Gnapp, who was a previous member of the British Skydiving team and a worldclass skydiving instructor with more than 10,000 skydives under his belt.
It was a great experience that the students will carry with them throughout their educational journey.