On Friday, Dec. 6, Robinson students, enrolled in any of the physics courses, were invited to Physics Day at Busch Gardens.  Busch Gardens opened one hour early at 9 a.m. exclusively for Physics Day students.  This gave students the unique opportunity to experience Busch Gardens’ world-class roller coasters and make some of their physics calculations without having to wait in lines.

“Watching the accelerometer on row 2 of Montu was exhilarating,” said Corey Buel (’15).

Accelerometers were put on a few of the main attractions to see how the ride’s acceleration fluctuates.  These accelerators were located on Gwazi, Kumba, Montu, SheiKra, Phoenix, and Cheetah Hunt.  Buel also informed me that he saw a few students and teachers who brought their own accelerometer wrist straps and vests.  Busch Gardens, however, only allowed accelerometer wrist straps and vests on certain rides.

“I was surprised at how long the lines for the interactive stations were,” said Julian Sourivongs (’15).

There were five of the stations dispersed all around the park.  Each station teaches students about different topics that involve physics, such as the bite force of a hyena, how to clock an animal’s speed by measuring its body and stride lengths, biomechanics of animal movements, non-newtonian fluid, and conservation of energy and magnetic braking.

“It was a great experience, and I can’t wait to come back next year,” stated Ty Simon (’15).

Everyone who went said that they had a great time, and that they enjoyed all of the hands-on experiences that Busch Gardens had to offer.  The teacher chaperones said that most juniors that go don’t join them senior year, but everyone said that they would absolutely join them next year.