West Chatham Elementary has a fun and exciting way to get students serious about science.
They’re building model roller coasters, based on what they’ve learned about physics, for the Coaster Mania competition at Carowinds amusement park in North Carolina. Some of the models — like the Popsicle stick-constructed Widow Maker and the illuminated Dream-mare — are concept designs. But others, like the Twisted Tentacle — which has a two-loop track — and the Matterhorn-like Stormy Disaster, which has a motorized lift to carry its marble to the starting point, are fully functioning. When a marble is placed on the track it is able to roll down, up and around every loop and bend on the course.
“We have two loops! Two loops,” Said fourth-grader Emma Hearn, member of team Twisted Tentacle. “No one in the STEM Program at our school has ever done that before.”
And that’s significant because West Chatham Elementary is the reigning two-time Coaster Mania champion. Alexander Hamilton, a Twisted Tentacle team member, made their unprecedented feat seem simple.
“We start it at a very high point to get lots of potential energy,” he said.
West Chatham got involved in the annual Coaster Mania contest when it was developing plans to bolster its science program and become the first Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) certified elementary school in south Georgia. It is currently in the final stages of STEM certification.
“When I was in high school, the best teacher on the planet — Kathy Walden at Liberty County High School — took us to Physics Day at Six Flags (Over Georgia amusement park) to ride roller coasters. It was the best day of school ever,” said West Chatham Elementary physical education teacher and STEM Program director Tommy Gibbs. “So I looked around and found something similar in Coaster Mania at Carowinds.”
School groups who participate in Coaster Mania construct themed roller coasters, which are judged by Carowinds roller coaster engineering and maintenance staff. West Chatham students must meet high academic and behavioral standards to participate in the school’s STEM program. And they have to be committed. For three months they meet after school for an hour on Fridays to construct their designs. Of the more than 300 candidates, just 70 met the participation criteria. Students work hard to be part of the elite group.
“I learned how to make a coaster go up hills and around loops with force and speed,” said fifth-grader Judah Smith.
The students are working to complete their coasters for the May 17 competition. Winners receive season passes to Carowinds, plaques and certificates. But Gibbs said the biggest prize is the scientific knowledge and enthusiasm for learning that students develop along the way.
“I just like getting together with the other kids and making the roller coaster and being creative,” said fifth-grader Cassidy Burns.