Sport Speak
On a team sport? A fan of sports? Or just play for fun? Then check out these savvy DFTV Investigations where kids discover the world of sports:
- Reed and Nick are intrigued by the “sweet spot” on their baseball bat—the spot from which a baseball soars if it makes contact! Since everyone uses different kinds of bats, the boys head to The Science Place in Dallas to determine: Is the sweet spot on an aluminum bat the same as the sweet spot on a wood bat?
- Jai and Jonathan are two basketball fans. They made the observation that kids younger than them shoot jump shots from their chin, and kids older than them do overhead shots. They want to know: At the start of a jump shot, how does your hand position affect your overall shooting?
- Jaq and Niki are competitive divers who are judged on their form and entry into the water, where less splash is better. They want to know: How should they dive to reduce splash and achieve higher scores?
- Paula and Alyssa love fencing, a sport that’s been around for over three thousand years! In this sport, accuracy is key because electronic sensors tell you when a hit is scored. They want to know: What effect does the force of attack have on accuracy?
- Sean, Ben, and Neil love to mountainboard (basically a larger version of a skateboard) in Southern California where they live. They notice that their boards ride differently when tire pressure is higher or lower. They want to know: Which tire pressure will let them maintain speed and control through turns?
- Emmanuel and GiGi absolutely love to sail. While sailing their toy boats in a pond they notice the boats seem to travel faster in some directions than others. They want to know: What is the fastest sailing direction and why?
- Sarah, Lisa, Ned, and Eric are competitive short-track speedskaters who are investigating how they should perform their turns. They are curious: Should they enter the turn in a tight, medium, or wide fashion to maintain speed?
Wanna know more about playing it safe while playing your sport? Then check out Real Scientist engineers Brian Sidwell and Mike Lowe who design and test bicycle helmets at Bells Labs in Santa Cruz, California!
