Pushes & pulls · Kindergarten
Build a ramp to make a ball go faster, and a bumper to make it turn!
A higher ramp makes a ball go faster.
A bumper can make a ball change direction.
Standard: K-PS2-2*. Children look at what happened to decide whether a design, like a ramp or a bumper, does what it was meant to do: change an object's speed or direction.
What your child does: finds that a ball on a flat floor needs a push or a ramp; tests a low, a middle and a high ramp and compares how far the ball goes; designs a ramp that stops the ball on a target ("too short", "too far", "just right"); then places and turns a bumper so a rolling ball turns into a basket.
Talk about it: "How did you know your ramp worked?" · "What would you change if the ball went too far?" · "Where else do you see ramps or bumpers?" (slides, driveways, bowling bumpers)
Try it for real: lean a board or a big book on 1, 2 and 3 books, roll a ball down each, and mark where it stops. Then use a shoebox lid as a bumper to turn the ball into a laundry basket.
*Next Generation Science Standards and NGSS are registered trademarks of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.