Cans for Coasters: Grace Hartman sixth graders make speedy delivery to Helping Hands

Kaleigh Pace waits to demonstrate her roller coaster to students and parents attending the event.

(ROCKWALL ISD-January 23, 2013) Sixth grade students at Grace Hartman Elementary have been studying forces and motion.

Using this knowledge, they built their own roller coasters to demonstrate acceleration, velocity, potential and kinetic energy and calculated the speed.

Dean Blackwell checks expiration dates on canned food, donated for admission to the event, which will be given to Helping Hands.

After testing the coasters they decided to share their experience with the other students on the campus and make it a service learning activity as well. Their annual “Cans for Coasters” lets them display their work for students in 2nd through 5th grades and parents. The cost of admission to the event was a canned food item or coins which were donated to Rockwall County Helping Hands.

The students even weighed all the food and calculated 357.5 pounds were donated as well as $130.21 in coins.

Submitted by Christy Wendt, Rockwall ISD.

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