8th grade math and science students had the opportunity to take part in the Engineering Adventures Program though Marathon Petroleum Company (MPC) on March 2nd and 3rd. This program focuses on allowing students to make real-world connections to the content they are learning in math and science! Engineers from MPC came to Liberty-Benton to teach the students about designing roller coasters! The project was centered around the topics of gravitational potential energy, kinetic energy, and velocity!
Over the two day program, L-B students had the opportunity to work with a group to create a roller coaster out of pipe insulation and duct tape. During the designing and building stages of the project, students were able to collaborate with their group, the engineers, and teachers to create the best possible design! Once the roller coasters were built, students tested their design with three marbles! (A steel marble represented a full roller coaster, a glass marble represented a half-full roller coaster, and a wooden marble represented an empty roller coaster.)
This program gave students hands-on experience that made math and science concepts relevant to their lives! The students, teachers, and engineers all had a blast! Mr. Homburg and Miss Eicher are already looking forward to continuing the program next year!
