Cedar Point to transform into world's largest laboratory

Sunday, 09 May 2004

Cedar Point Press Release

SANDUSKY, Ohio, May 6, 2004 - When it comes to the formula for fun, there's only one right answer: head for the roller coaster hills of Cedar Point on Thursday, May 20 when more than 8,000 students from around the Midwest will transform the famed amusement park/resort into the world's biggest laboratory during it's 19th annual Physics Day and 4th annual Middle School Match and Science Day.

High school physics students will journey to Cedar Point with protractors, calculators and other scientific equipment to calculate problems and principles they have studied in the classroom throughout the school year and apply them to Cedar Point's world-record-breaking collection of 67 rides, including the popular 420-foot-tall, 120-mph Top Thrill Dragster, the tallest and fastest roller coaster on Earth. Quantities such as speed, power, velocity, distance and acceleration will be measured. Physics Day is endorsed by the American Association of Physics Teachers as an educational and instructional exercise and is used by many teachers as a final exam or laboratory exercise.

The NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland will also provide a presentation by Cleveland-native astronaut Donald Thomas at 11 a.m. in the Cedar Point Ballroom (barring any unforeseen operational commitments or mission priorities). Other NASA activities will include a photo booth where students can get their picture taken as an astronaut exhibit in the Cedar Point Ballroom and various displays throughout the park, including NASA's caped crusader, Microgravity Man.

Middle School students will discover how math and science apply to the fun of Cedar Point by solving problems such as height, angles, shapes and scale, along with completing lesson plans that relate to the history and future of the park. Stopwatches, altimeters and rulers will be their tools of choice.