General Education Activity | STEM Career Connection: Kinesiologist, Structural Engineer
Standards: 2022 MN Science 2P.2.2.1.1, 2019 MN Science 3.2.2
Balance is key to athletic performance. This activity invites students to get creative in their exploration of balance and unbalance!
Materials:
Binder clips, assorted sizes, 20 per student or group
Construction paper or cardboard shapes
Pencils, 3+ per student or group
String
Duct tape
Paper clips, small - 1 box of 100 per student or group
Predict:
What causes something to balance or become unbalanced?
Plan:
Look around your classroom. What objects are different sizes and shapes but might still be able to stay balanced?
Play:
Gather materials.
Attach a pencil to the string and secure the string to the table with duct tape so that it hangs off the table horizontally.
Clip one shape to the pencil with a binder clip and a string of paper clips. Have students determine how to balance the pencil holding everything together. (See figures 1 and 2 below.)
Have students notice how one side is lower than the other. The pencil is now diagonal, not horizontal.
Add another shape, see how the mobile reacts, and determine how to change the shape or how it is attached to rebalance the mobile. Example: Experiment with the number of paper clips, where the two shapes are attached to the pencil, add or subtract weight from the shape.
Have students test different combinations of shapes.
Ponder:
What steps did you take to make everything balance when you added a new shape?
What made an object harder or easier to balance?
SEL Connection: What strategies did you use to overcome frustration while balancing?
Extension:
For an added challenge, attach a second extension to the main mobile. Have students go through the balancing process trying to get both of the pencils to be horizontal.
Have students pair up and try to attach their mobiles together (a longer wooden dowel might be needed).
What football actions, such as throwing, would affect a player’s balance? How do they stay balanced?
How does the opposing team try to upset the balance of players on the other team?
