Bicycle Science!

This school year let’s do more science!  What do kids like?  They like to ride bikes!  Kiddos might want to know why professional cyclists hunch over their bikes in a race.  My husband, Rob, uses a bike to explain gears.  Do your children know how to maintain their bikes?  What are the parts called?  What do they do?  So much science!  Let’s get started.

Gears: I bought LEGO Gear Bots kits for my Chemistry and Physics class this fall.  We need to understand gears and gear ratios.  Here is a LEGO lesson about gears to use as an introduction.  Teach Engineering has a good Gears slide deck.  HST has Gears, both a lesson and an activity.  Cut out and play with styrofoam gears.

Bike Parts and Bike Safety: Bike Parts Race is a grab and go lesson with a labeled bike diagram, traffic lesson, and helmet safety.  Combine the lesson with Bicycle Safety Activity Kit, which has coloring and connect the dot activities for younger kiddos.

Science of Cycling Aerodynamics is an article from The Exploratorium; the article has an embedded calculator to measure aerodynamic drag.  Teach Engineering has Design a Bike Helmet.  Here is a teachers webpage with examples the class made to use as inspiration.