In this STEM kit, children will be introduced to gravity. So what is gravity? Gravity is the force by which a planet or other body draws objects toward its center. The force of gravity keeps all of the planets in orbit around the sun.
Why do you land on the ground when you jump up instead of floating off into space? Why do things fall down when you throw them or drop them? The answer is gravity: an invisible force that pulls objects toward each other. Earth's gravity is what keeps you on the ground and what makes things fall.
Anything that has mass also has gravity. Objects with more mass have more gravity. Gravity also gets weaker with distance. So, the closer objects are to each other, the stronger their gravitational pull is.
Earth's gravity comes from all its mass. Earth's mass makes a combined gravitational pull on all the mass in your body. That's what gives you weight. And if you were on a planet with less mass than Earth, you would weigh less than you do here.
Gravity is what holds the planets in orbit around the sun and what keeps the moon in orbit around Earth. The gravitational pull of the moon pulls the seas towards it, causing the ocean tides. Gravity creates stars and planets by pulling together the material from which they are made.
Gravity not only pulls on mass but also on light. Albert Einstein discovered this principle. If you shine a flashlight upwards, the light will grow imperceptibly redder as gravity pulls it. You can't see the change with your eyes, but scientists can measure it.
Let’s read a book about gravity. In this kit you will find the book, The Gravity Tree: The True Story of a Tree That Inspired the World by Anna Crowley Redding. After you read the book, you are going master the understanding of gravity by making a zipline. First, children will construct their cups and use the stems to create hooks with the bobbins. Next, they race the baskets down the zipline! For a more in-depth examination of gravity, add weights to the baskets to see how the added weight affects the baskets going down the zipline.
Materials Included:
3 1/4" 9 oz. paper cups
12" chenille stems
3/4" diam. plastic bobbins.
String
Markers
All craft kit pieces are pre-packaged for individual use. Kits include instructions. Simple assembly required. Oriental Trading: https://www.orientaltrading.com/steam-zipline-craft-kit-makes-10-a2-13777876.fltr?categoryId=551419+2581&rd=STEM
Instructions:
· Decorate the cup.
· Poke holes in the sides of the cup, thread the chenille stem through to create a handle.
· Take another chenille stem and form a hook, thread the bobbin on the hook.
Source: Erickson, K. (2017). What is gravity? :: NASA Space Place. Nasa.gov. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/what-is-gravity/en/
Instructions for Kit:
Kit #2 (The Ups and Downs of Gravity by David A. Adler)
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