November STEM Challenge

In November, we are going to design free-standing pendulums that can draw or paint as they swing to and fro!

A pendulum is an object, hung from a fixed point, that swings freely back and forth under the action of gravity. The back and forth movements of a pendulum are called oscillations.

(I could watch that sand pendulum allll daaaay 😍)

Kids love to ride the swings at the playground. The motion of a tire swing demonstrates the physics of a pendulum. The swing is supported by chains that are attached to a fixed point at the top of the swing set, which allow it to move freely back and forth. 

The Foucault Pendulum is named for the French physicist Jean Foucault, who used it to demonstrate the rotation of the earth in 1851. It was the first experiment to give simple, direct evidence of the Earth's rotation.

Check out this cool video that explains how the Foucault Pendulum proves the rotation of our amazing planet, Earth. 

Let's design a pendulum!

Research pendulums and use items from around your house to complete this challenge.

Send Mrs. Sol pictures or movies of your experiment to share in class.

DUE NOVEMBER 15