Who knew learning about Sir Isaac Newton could be so much fun?
Iola middle school and elementary school students were treated to hands-on lessons Tuesday afternoon, courtesy of “Jetpack” Jason Kuceric of Mad Science of Greater Kansas City, an organization dedicated to providing hands-on, interactive educational and entertainment programs to spark interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in children.
Kuceric demonstrated each of Newton’s three laws of motion, using simple but effective props.
What most in the audience didn’t realize, they are obeying those laws every day, he said.
Newton’s three laws:
1. Law of inertia.
Kuceric brought middle-schooler Brayden Schomaker to the front to demonstrate how an object will remain at rest or in motion unless altered by an external force.
At Kuceric’s urging, Schomaker yanked a cloth beneath a table setting to illustrate how inertia kept the items on the table, even after the student pulled the cloth away.
2. An object’s acceleration is directly proportional to the force acting on it.
Students Carter Ashworth and Olivia Weber used a net to capture a raw egg tossed from afar by Kuceric to illustrate how slowing its momentum prevented the shell from breaking.
He then followed that up with having student Bryce Roberts twirl a full container of water overhead without spilling it, courtesy of centrifugal force.
3. For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction.
Sixth-grader Matrim Olson was on hand, first to release a balloon as the released air propelled it to the ceiling, and then using a leaf blower to create propulsion as he spun on a small scooter.
KUCERIC also held programs at Iola Elementary School in the morning, and then a public performance Tuesday evening at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.
The Mad Science presentation was hosted by Iola Reads, which is focused on the book “Hidden Figures” this fall, which chronicles a group of African American women who played key roles in the early days of the NASA space program.
The “Hidden Figures” movie will be shown, free to the public, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, at the Iola Public Library.
