Staying Connected to Chicago Science in the City

Our exploration of the connection between science and sports doesn’t end just because the day has past. Chicago Science in the City is a fantastic opportunity for our students to explore science and their city with friends and family, and to have fun while learning, too. There are numerous opportunities for schools and their students to continue their investigation of these two interesting and related topics.

As in the past, we are encouraging all CPS schools to participate in some fashion in this year’s Science in the City: The Science of Sports.

The Gummi Bear Long Jump

At Chicago Science in the City, CPS again partnered with Science Olympiad to offer the hands-on activity The Gummi Bear Long Jump. This activity teaches the physics behind projectile motion. Attendees are able to take home items and instructions to continue their exploration of this physics activity after leaving Chicago Science in the City.

For those of you unable to attend the event or who would like additional information on how this activity connects to your curriculum, CPS and Science Olympiad will be conducting 2 hour professional development workshops for teachers in Grades K-12 during the school year. Attendees to these workshops will be provided with materials to conduct this activity with their class. A listing of dates and times for these sessions can be found on the PD Central website. If you have any additional questions please contact Dr. John F. Loehr, Department of High School Teaching & Learning jfloehr@cps.k12.il.us.

Discovery Education On-Line Access

To bring the excitement and resources of the Discovery Education Zone at Science in the City into the classroom, Discovery Education from October 18th to December 18th is providing all educators with a free trial of their on-line science content and resources. This will allow teachers to use over 20,000 streaming videos in their classrooms and also provides teachers with access to Virtual Labs and on-line professional development opportunities. To take advantage of this opportunity, interested elementary school teachers should contact Ms. Jeanette Bartley (jrbartley@cps.k12.il.us) to obtain an access code. Interested high school teachers should contact Dr. John F. Loehr (jfloehr@cps.k12.il.us) to obtain their code.

Measuring Velocity in a Mini-Olympics

If you are looking for a classroom activity to connect science and sports, we recommend that you try Measuring Velocity in a Mini-Olympics developed by Ms. Marion Hill as part of the Illinois Institute of Technology Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE) program. In this lesson, students demonstrate an understanding of the difference between speed, velocity, and acceleration. They compute velocity, acceleration, and construct graphs that show information about velocities of sports activities.

All CPS teachers will receive an email regarding “State of the Art,” sessions where scientists and engineers from businesses, government agencies and universities will present the “State of the Art” in their particular fields.  Teachers can attend these optional sessions weekdays at 4 pm; they will receive CPDUs if they attend: space will be limited.  We will post on CEdO exactly what will be sent to teachers.