Thrilled with learning
Kids taught roller-coaster math, science at Universal
Science can be fun — especially when it involves experimenting with hair-raising roller coasters.
Sixth-graders from St. Helena School in the Bronx received a crash course in math and physics Wednesday in Orlando before putting their knowledge to the test on some of the tallest roller coasters in America.
“Today we’re going to talk about how we do a roller coaster with potential energy and kinetic energy,” said youth educator Michael Morman of Universal Orlando Resort. “Then we’re going to all go out and ride the rides.”
The 23 students are at Universal Studios Florida all week thanks to the Daily News’ “Win a Universal Orlando Resort Class Trip” competition.
Morman, who’s worked at Universal Studios for three decades in various roles — as a technician, performer and stage manager among them — taught the kids how roller coasters rely on the law of conservation of energy, the scientific formula behind goose bump-inducing rides, and how theme park engineers measure and map out roller coasters.
“This is the best job I’ve ever had. You know why?” Morman told the kids. “It’s because of all of you — I get a chance to learn from all of you.”
Senior education program director Teresa Crews said the learning offered at Universal Studios give kids a chance to work in teams and open their minds to math-and physics-based jobs they might not have known existed.
“What we bring is an opportunity to see these attrac- tions and the technology behind the attractions, in a way that hopefully inspires kids to maybe enter a career that they haven’t thought about before,” Crews told the Daily News.
After their physics session, the class partnered up and headed out to the theme park equipped with iPads to observe the rides — and collect data with Your Classroom in Motion: A STEAM App Series — on how fast the rollercoaster carts move from one point to another.
“We’re seeing the real roller coaster — when the cart reaches a certain point, we see how fast the cart moves from Point A to Point B,” said Peter Lugo, 12.
“I learned the physics of what they were telling us back at the lounge. I learned that going towards the loop is not as fast as going around the loop,” said Ethan Chattar, 10.
Crews, who worked as a high school science teacher for 10 years before joining the Universal team, feels the best way for students to learn is by doing — even if that means riding a roller coaster.
It’s about “making a connection — not replacing a classroom experience, but enhancing or extending that experience into some realworld application,” Crews said.
The lucky Bronxites won the once-in-a-lifetime VIP trip after collecting the most bar codes from the spines of print edition copies of The News.
“One of the things that we always want to make sure of, is that the children get a good look not only at Universal Studios — but also get a good look at how it’s done,” said Ric Flattes, The News’ circulation sales and marketing director.
The rides didn’t disappoint. “When we did the loop, I was scared, but then the rest I wasn’t that scared,” said Angel Smith, 11, of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, which runs at a max speed of 65 mph — while thrusting riders as high as 167 feet in the air.
“In the loop, I just closed my eyes. I was screaming the entire time,” said Farli Barros, 12, who added that the lesson beforehand quelled her fears “a little bit because I knew it was safe.”
Parents weren’t left out of the action-packed day, with many opting to unleash their inner child and ride the larger-than-life roller coasters.
“The initial is the scariest part, but after that, I had a little Cypress Hill’s ‘Insane in the Membrane,’ and it went perfect with the ride,” said Omar Ward, 43. “I enjoyed myself all the way through. It was a great experience.”