Extend the learning (and fun!) with these resources about GRAVITY … and more from PBS LearningMedia!
And, be sure to join us on January 20 @ 11am & 3:30pm CST for our next KLRN Virtual Classroom. We'll watch the Curious Crew take on CHEMICAL REACTIONS.
See our full schedule and register here.
Grades K-2
Defy Gravity! Balancing Balls on Air
In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, two cast members use a hair dryer to balance a ball in mid-air. Bernoulli's principle, a fundamental principle of physics, explains why high and low pressure areas created by air rushing around the curved surface of the ball keep it more or less directly over the air column.
Fetch! Science Activities: Stack 'Em Up | PBS Kids
A cup isn't very tall. But what about a lot of cups? This "Fetch!" challenge is to build a tower just made out of cups. How high can you go? Remember, the sky's the limit! Gravity - a tower's worst enemy? Maybe. Gravity can make a tower fall. But it also holds the cups in place! The trick for surviving gravity's pull is to distribute the tower's weight properly
Grades 3-5
Balance Magic
Find out how the center of gravity of a sculpture can be adjusted to make a cool balance toy. Explore the design process in this activity from Design Squad Nation.
Center of Gravity: Pencil Balance
The ease with which an object can be balanced depends greatly on the location of its center of gravity. In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, two cast members experiment with various designs in an effort to balance a pencil on its tip. Their solution lowers the pencil's center of gravity, making this seemingly difficult balancing feat all but effortless.
Grades 6-8
Health Effects of Zero Gravity
Learn about the harmful health effects of living in zero gravity and a potential solution in this video from NOVA scienceNOW: "Can We Make It to Mars?" NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger describes the bone and muscle loss he experienced during his five-month stay aboard the Russian Space Station.
Grades 9-12
Gravity and the Expanding Universe
Recent research has found that the universe is not only expanding, but that the rate of expansion is accelerating. To explain this acceleration, scientists have come to believe that there may be a repulsive force caused by "dark energy," an idea first developed by Albert Einstein. In this video segment adapted from NOVA, learn about the history of our understanding of the expansion of the universe.
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