A way to promote student interest and engagement in physics is by capitalizing on students' skills in arts and crafts to design and make physics-based toys. This article illustrates how two students (averaging 14 years of age) in the authors' science class designed and fabricated a variation of a physics-based teaching aid that demonstrates the…

The High School Project on Astrophysics Research with Cosmics (HiSPARC) is an international project in which secondary schools and academic institutions join forces to form a network of detectors to measure cosmic rays with extremely high energy. We present results of research done by students at the King Edward VI High School For Girls,…

Research has shown that project-based learning promotes student interest in science and improves understanding of scientific content. Fostering student motivation is particularly important in accelerated science and technology programmes for talented students, which are often demanding and time-consuming. Current texts provide little guidance on…

We have conducted an education project to communicate the wave energy concept to high school students. A virtual reality system that combines both hardware and software is developed in this project to simulate the buoy-wave interaction. This first-of-its-kind wave energy unit is portable and physics-based, allowing students to conduct a number of…

IDEAS FOR SCIENCE INVESTIGATIONS FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE DESCRIBED. IN PART I THE STUDENT IS INTRODUCED TO THE IDEA OF THE PROJECT-TYPE INVESTIGATION AND IS GIVEN A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE MANUAL. A SECTION WHICH IS WRITTEN FOR THE TEACHER INCLUDES A DISCUSSION OF (1) EDUCATIONAL VALUES DERIVED FROM INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATIONS, AND (2) THE…

Described are 15 events that take place during a physics olympics at a Michigan high school. These events are planned with the idea of involving the older students in designing and presenting projects to ninth graders, and involving the latter in a day of outdoor participation. (SA)

Described are several physics activities developed by a high school: research corner, exploring an invention, construction projects, archives report and archives update, short term research and design projects, essay contest, and special projects. (YP)

Describes activities to stimulate school astronomy programs. Topics include: counting stars; the Earth's centripetal force; defining astronomical time; three types of sundials; perceptions of star brightness; sunspots and solar radiation; stellar spectroscopy; number-crunching and the molecular structure of the atmosphere; the Earth-Moon common…

These projects utilize musical instruments to teach the physics of sound by investigating standing waves in strings and plates, main resonance of stringed instruments, loudness curves, and analysis of tones. Can be adapted for secondary level or college level instruction. (MLH)

Describes the educational system and national preparations for the International Physics Olympiad of the Soviet Union and Romania. Suggests some recommendations for American education. (YP)

Discusses whether electronics should be included as a subject at school, and describes the process of developing an O-level electronics course which is based on electronic systems for British schools. The course content and structure are also included. (HM)

Describes two experiments in physics, using the same inexpensive apparatus, that may be performed as projects by high ability secondary science students. (JR)

A judge for the physics projects for the 1979 International Science and Engineering Fair describes many of the more popular science projects. Projects described include the following: carbon dioxide and helium-neon lasers, reverse flame investigations, holography, construction of a magnetic bottle to confine plasma, and aerodynamic drag. (BT)

Described are five physics activities including two superconductor projects, synchronizing video camera movements, electrical analysis of a bicycle, and apparatus for the measurement of thermal conductivity. (YP)