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- California's
Great America home page!
http://www.cagreatamerica.com/
- Canada's
Wonderland
A sister park to California's Great America,
Canada's Wonderland operates educational days similar
to Physics/Science/Math Days including a model coaster
contest
http://www.canadaswonderland.com/events/events_education_days.cfm
- Resources
from
NASA
Several pages that contain resources that are
useful in understanding amusement park rides. A middle
school resource packet is included in pdf format.
Keyed primarily to two other parks but definitely
worth the look.
http://exploration.grc.nasa.gov/outreach/appd/appd.html
- St.
Louis
Physics Day
The St. Louis Area Physics Teachers go all out to
support Physics Day at Six Flags. This page contains a
great deal of information that may also be keyed to
similar rides at California's Great America.
http://www.slapt.org/resources/sixflags/index.html
- How
Roller
Coasters Work
A set of pages from TLC and How Things Work.
Includes several videos to help explain how roller
coasters work.
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/roller-coaster.htm
- An
interactive
page where you can learn about forces on a roller
coaster and construct your own virtual coaster
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/parkphysics/
- Good
look
at forces in a vertical loop
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/energy/ce.cfm
And check out the whole physics
classroom website from Glenwood South HS:
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/
- How
to
make roller coasters work
An interesting take on the physics of roller
coasters. Interactive with ability to vary simple
roller coaster parameters and see the results.
http://www.fearofphysics.com/Roller/roller.html
- A
middle school project-based learning project -
Wild Ride
This project was carried out in Idaho, away from a
park with real coasters. It's a good example of
project-based learning and the web site includes
excellent resources.
http://educate.intel.com/en/WildRide/
- Scream
Machine
- A Roller Coaster Web Quest
A webquest activity on roller coasters. Great
idea!
http://teacherweb.com/MD/OxonHillMS/TechEffectScreamMachineWebQuest/
- The
Ultimate
Roller Coaster Contest
A Discovery Channel lesson plan with many
resources. Geared to grades 6-8.
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/the-ultimate-roller-coaster-contest.cfm
- An
experiment
that could be done with more URL's and other
information that can be obtained before going to
the park
http://cbakkennet.ipage.com/physlab/plab99/labs/nmorley/rollercoaster.htm
- The web page for
the National Amusement Park Historical Association
Several good links off of this page, too.
http://www.napha.org
- On-Line
Guide to Theme Park Resources
An extensive set of links to various resouces for
people interested in amusement parks.
http://www.themeparkpage.com
- Roller Coaster
DataBase
The RCDB is a comprehensive, searchable database
with information and statistics on over 1700 roller
coasters throughout the world.
http://www.rcdb.com/
- The
Ultimate
Roller Coaster Site
A site devoted to all sorts of information about
roller coasters. Check out the section on roller
coaster history and the section on roller coaster
records.
http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/
- Big
Links Page from AmusementAdvantage.com.
http://www.amusementadvantage.com/amusement_links.htm#Roller
- Funderstanding
Roller
Coaster A Java applet that allows you to
change the characteristics of a roller coaster and see
the end results. Requires a Java-enabled browser.
http://www.funderstanding.com/coaster
- Encyclopedia
Britannica
has an excellent page highlighting several
key steps in the evolution of roller coasters. If you
click on some of the included links, there is an excellent
page
on the physics of roller coasters.
Shockwave is required.
http://search.eb.com/coasters/
http://search.eb.com/coasters/ride.html
- Highs
& Lows: History of Roller Coasters
A page with a visual history of roller coasters.
Nice place to start a preview of the subject.
Suggested by Jaclyn, a student in upstate New York.
http://www.areavibes.com/library/roller-coaster-history/
- Coaster
Gallery
A site with pictures of roller coasters from many
parks, including California's Great America.
http://www.coastergallery.com/
- Coaster
Grotto
Coaster Grotto provides an extensive reference for the
amusement park industry including a roller coaster
database, over 3000 original photographs, and 100
detailed theme park reviews, and over 36,000 ratings
of roller coasters.
http://www.coastergrotto.com
- American
Coaster Enthusiasts
ACE is an organization of amusement park junkies.
They love to ride. Bigger and faster are better! But
they are also interested in preserving the best of
amusement park rides from the past, too.
http://www.ACEonline.org
- Roller
Coaster
Media Library
A free site where you can find information about
amusement park media items including videos. Worth
looking into.
http://www.rollercoastermedialibrary.com/
Videotapes and DVD's
- Robb
Alvey's
Roller Coaster Videos
You can preview some of his work, download previews
of several videos, then order online. Cost is very
reasonable!
http://www.themeparkreview.com/store/
Roller coaster products
- Enter "Roller Coaster" in any search engine
Follow up links going to online shopping sites.
Products available include toy models from companies
like K'NEX, video simulation games like Sim Theme
Park, and board games like Roller Coaster Tycoon. One
search engine gave 536,000 hits!
- A Crash Course in Forces and
Motion with Max Axiom, Super Scientist
by Emily Sohn. This 32-page comic book explains much
of roller coaster physics in an entertaining way.
Available from many sources for around $8. A portion
is available online at this address:
http://books.google.com/books?id=QOM6ZCaeNEEC&dq=A+Crash+Course+in+Forces+and+Motion+with+Max+Axiom,+Super+Scientist&source=gbs_navlinks_s
- NoLimits
Roller
Coaster Simulator
A computer simulation of roller coasters for PC or
Mac with a free trial version that can be downloaded
from the Internet.
http://www.nolimitscoaster.com/
- K'NEX
Roller
Coaster Kits
K'NEX makes several roller coaster kits, and also kits
which are designed to be used in science classrooms.
http://www.knex.com/products/toy-roller-coasters/
- Arbor
Scientific
They have become sellers for a very nice coaster kit
designed for education. Not cheap, but good stuff
generally isn't.
http://www.arborsci.com/roller-coaster
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