Football
| The popularity of the game of football provides an opportunity to introduce a large audience of diverse ages to the science, mathematics and technology (SMT) content that underlies the game itself as well as everyday life experiences. The exhibit package includes a lecture demonstration text and exhibit lab master sheet ready to copy. The exhibit is highly interactive and will explore about 20 SMT topics. It will require at least 3,000 sq. ft. of space with ten-foot ceilings. |
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Need For This Exhibit
Science, mathematics, and technology (SMT) underlie all aspects of our lives, yet few individuals pursue careers in these fields, or even remain informed about them. Participatory museum exhibits provide a medium through which children and adults can engage in science. Successful use of this medium requires a topic interesting to the public which can be explored through a variety of participatory exhibit units.
The sport of football meets both criteria. It is filled with SMT content, which are part of the National Science Education Standards for grades K-12. Highlights include:
- Physical Science- Properties of objects and materials, position and motion of objects, motions and forces, and transfer of energy.
- Life Science- Characteristics of organisms, structure and function in living systems, regulation and behavior.
- Science and Technology- Gain abilities of technological design from identifying a problem to evaluating the proposed solution.
- Science in Personal and Social Perspective- Personal Health and Socialization
- History and Nature of Science- Science as a human endeavor and process of inquiry.
- Science As Inquiry- Asking questions, conducting investigations, using equipment and tools to gather data, constructing reasonable explanations, and communicating findings to others.
Football provides a means to explore SMT within the framework of the National Standards. The popularity of football will be a strong motivator of public learning because it elicits intrinsic interests, curiosity, exploration, manipulation, and social interaction from a wide range of ages. By including cheerleading, band, and social science, the exhibit will be attractive to individuals who might not be enthusiastic about the game itself.
| Goals Of The Exhibit
The exhibit will:
- Attract a large and diverse public audience of all ages
- Attract class participation from grades 4 to 9
- Motivate participants to explore the underlying role of SMT in a popular pastime, thus demonstrating the value of being informed in SMT.
- Provide opportunity for participants to conduct experiments and make observations in keeping with the process of science as inquiry.
- Connect SMT explored through football to other aspects of our lives and career opportunities.
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Features Of The Exhibit
The exhibit is organized into zones relating to football. For example, the forward pass or game at the line of scrimmage. Within each zone, several football activities are identified and their underlying SMT explored through participatory activities. At least two other examples of SMT in non-football content are also presented, including information on current research in the context of career options.
For example:
| Zone- Open field game |
Science- Collision dynamics |
Technology- Protecting against collisions |
Other Examples of SMT- Auto collisions |
| Participatory- Air momentum track experiments |
Careers- Auto safety, Sports Medicine |
| Research- Compression zones in automobiles |
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Exhibit labels for participatory units are written to model the inquiry process of science. Answers to questions are presented under flip ups. This will encourage groups using Exhibit Discovery Lab Sheets to focus and guide use of the exhibit by classes. The exhibit package also includes text and materials for a thirty-minute lecture demonstration
Partial Exhibit Description
I. History of the Game
A. NCAA
B. NFL
II. The Forward Pass
A. Gyroscopic Stability of the Spinning Ball - Participants experimenting with a
bicycle wheel gyroscope
B. Aerodynamics of the Ball
C. Statistics - Calculating the passing statistics of a game for passes completed
and yards gained
D. Graphing - Participants graphing the evolution of the passing game decade
by decade
III. Open Field Game
A. Collision Dynamics
1. Participants using a momentum track perform collision experiments
2. Calculating the probable outcome of several different football collisions
3. Sprinters on the football field (types of muscles). Participants test their
sprinting speed on a short track.
B. Center of Gravity of a Player
1. Participants testing for center of gravity on several different models
of players
2. Participants triangulating the center of gravity on several player cutouts
C. Peripheral vision in football - Participants testing their peripheral vision
IV. The Game At The Line
A. Strength and Muscles
1. Participants comparing their grip strength to football players
2. Participants operating a model arm to observe how muscles work
B. Reaction time and it's importance to successful plays on the line
(Brain, nervous system, and muscle). Participants test their reaction
time to sound or light stimulus.
C. Mobility and speed at the line (body kinematics). Participants test their full body
reaction time from different stances
V. The Kicking Game
A. Punting - trajectory
Participants using a ball bearing trajectory table to experiment with the effect of
different angles on distance and hang time
B. Placekicking
Participants experimenting with the ball's stability in flight if different axes of
tumbling rotations are used
VI. Technology of the Game
Characteristics of helmets, pads, and playing surfaces
VII. Common Injuries (Human physiology and medicine)
Participants use an arthroscope to examine the inside of a simulated knee
VIII. Cheerleaders
A. Rotational Inertia and Angular Momentum
Participants use models to explore the effect of changing the location of their
arms and legs while doing acrobatics
B. Inner Ear and Balance
1. Participants move a model of the inner ear to examine how its shape provides
multi axes balance
2. Participants test their balance on a balance board
IX. Bands
Rotational motion, angular and linear velocity
Participants experimenting with these concepts
Promotional Materials
For the rental exhibits MOD will provide three different professional quality photographs of people using the exhibit and a 20-second silent video which can be used to promote the exhibit, A press release will also be included along with a graphic logo.
Other Support
If you request MOD staff will suggest a floor plan for your specific museum. An exhibit technical manual will provide guidance for installation and maintenance. A copy of the exhibit script will also be provided as well as a master copy of the pre and post visit activities kit for teachers.
Venue
Dates |
Venue |
Status |
| October, November & December, 2004 |
Boonshoft Museum of Discovery (Dayton, OH) |
Booked |
| June, July & August 2005 |
McGovern Museum Of Health/Med Science
(Houston, TX) |
Booked |
| October, November & December, 2005 |
Delaware Museum of Natural History |
Booked |
| January-May
2006 |
Discovery
Museum (Bridgeport, CT) |
Booked |
| June-July
2006 |
Museum of Discovery
(Little Rock, AR) |
Booked |
| August-November
2006 |
The Explorer
Center, Inc. (Mobile, AL) |
Booked |
| June 2 – September 2, 2007 |
Shreveport. LA |
Booked |
| May 26 - August 31, 2008 |
Museum of Discovery
(Little Rock, AR) |
Booked |
| September 2008 - January 2009 |
Danville Science Center (Danville, VA) |
Booked |
| September 2009 - January 2010 |
American Museum of Science & Energy ( Oak Ridge, TN) |
Pending |
| January - December 2010 |
Children's Museum & Science Center
(Rocky Mount, NC) |
Booked |
| September 2011-January 2012 |
Strong National Museum of Play (Rochester, NY) |
Pending |
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For further information
contact:
Nan Selz --(501) 396-7050 ext. 207
nselz@amod.org
Museum of Discovery
500 President Clinton Ave, Suite
150
Little Rock, AR
72201
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