My students need 45 amusement park kits (each package contains 15 kits) to be able to work in groups of three on a field trip to study force, velocity, inertia, energy and acceleration of roller coasters.
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Sackey's classroom raised $414
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
Wouldn’t you have been more engaged in physics if you got to study forces by analyzing roller coasters? I teach physics to college-bound juniors and seniors in a high poverty, predominantly Hispanic area of a large city. I would love to give my students an authentic experience in physics that will also enrich their lives by exposing them to experiences not found in our area. My goal is to take them to an amusement park to study the physics of roller coasters.
Many of my students work to help pay their family’s bills and have never traveled to the outlying suburbs, let alone out of the state. Due to these circumstances, fundraising is particularly difficult in our area.
I am writing grants to cover the cost of tickets and transportation, but without the physics equipment, the trip won’t have any scientific merit! Each group of students needs a set of "low-tech" instruments that will allow them to measure the forces at different points of each ride. Once back in the classroom, students will use the data they gathered to determine the velocity, acceleration, inertia, and energy of the rides. An entire year's worth of physics content will be applied and tied together in this culminating field trip! The problem-solving and analysis skills the students will gain from this experience are necessary for success in college and in the work place.
You can help me reverse the stigma that physics is "hard" and "boring." Real-world applications of physics are fun and exciting! You may just help inspire the next generation of engineers!
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Sackey and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
