ERIC Number: EJ1252256
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Apr
Pages: 3
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0269-2465
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Available Date: N/A
The Hula Hoop Hundreds-and-Thousands Hadron Collider Model
James, Robin
Primary Science, n157 p16-18 Apr 2019
Robin James was one of fifteen primary teachers who visited the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland. They were tasked with finding a way to interest students in particle physics after the visit. The science of really small things, such as atoms, is as relevant and intriguing to young children as the science of really big things, such as the solar system. By splitting a lump of play dough into smaller and smaller pieces, even a child as young as five might start to consider how small a piece it is possible to make. An important conceptual step has been reached when a child learns that there are things so small that we cannot see them. But the journey is started, as the curriculum recognises, by thinking about 'what things are made of'. Later learning about forces or light brings children even closer to the science of CERN. Inspired by the visit, the author describes a lesson of how using a hula hoop and hundreds-and-thousands of sprinkles can provide a science context for probability.
Descriptors: Elementary School Teachers, Elementary School Students, Elementary School Science, Science Instruction, Physics, Student Interests, Learning Activities, Scientific Concepts, Concept Formation, Probability, Molecular Structure
Association for Science Education. College Lane Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9AA, UK. Tel: +44-1-707-283000; Fax: +44-1-707-266532; e-mail: info@ase.org.uk; Web site: http://www.ase.org.uk
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A