1. A project of the Center for Science Education at EDC Inc,
Funded by the National Science Foundation NSF # 0917576
Copyright 2008 Education Development Center, Inc.

2. NPASS2 Goal
To create a scalable model of OST
science programming that
regularly engages children in
meaningful science exploration
and which peaks their interest
and confidence in pursuing study
and career options in the STEM
fields

3. % of US 4th and 8th
graders proficient in
science. (NAEP 2005)
29

4. % of US 12th graders,
proficient in science.
18

5. % increase between 1998
and 2008 in the number of
US jobs requiring training
in STEM
51

6. % by which this is faster
than the overall job
growth in the overall US
economy
400

7. % of HS graduates aged 25
– 29 (2000) with
bachelor’s or higher
degrees in science
 Whites 36
 African Americans 21
 Hispanics 15

8. % of women in the US
workforce.
45

9. % of science and
engineering jobs in
business and industry
held by women
12

10. Factor that predicts better than
test performance which eighth-
grade students will pursue
careers in science
Interest in science careers

11. Avoid…
Indirect/informal (2nd hand)
Training
Doing the work for the kids
Drop-in by kids
Too many/few kids
Getting mad/frustrated

12. Spinning Toys!
What are we doing?

13. Challenge # 1: Make a Top
 Make a TOP out of any of these materials
 Make it spin for at least 20 seconds
MATERIALS
• 2 Heavy Paper Plates
• I dowel
• I pencil
• 2 Rubber Bumpers
• 2 Binder clips
Roles
• Builder
• Materials
• “Spy”
• Presenter

14. What do I do? What to think about
 Make a top with the materials
provided.
 Practice “launching” the top
by using your hands.
 Make changes to your top that
allow it to spin longer.
 Time how your top spins, and
record the times on a data
sheet
 Does it matter whether the
dowel is exactly in the middle of
the plate?
 Why does the dowel need to be
fixed tightly to the plate?
 What is the best way to launch
the top?
 What is the fairest way to time
your top? When should you start
& stop the clock?

15. Discussion Questions
Do not tell the children what is wrong with their tops or how to fix them
General questions: Specific questions:
 What works (and what doesn’t)?
 What have you tried (and what
happened)?
 What has worked for other teams?
 How did the rubber bumpers help
your top?
 How did you keep the plate fixed
tightly to the axle? Why does it
matter?
 How did you spin the top?
 Did your top wobble? What did/could
you do to stop the wobble?
 What happened if your axle wasn’t
exactly in the middle of the plate?
 How did you find the middle of the
plate?
 How could you change the design to
make it work better?

16. Example what works chart
What Works What Doesn’t
 The hole in the middle of the
plate
 Sharp Pencil
 Bumpers on top of plates
 Plates low on dowel
 Bumpers tight
 Spin really hard
 Bigger plates spin better
 Fast launch
 Hole not in middle
 Plates high on dowel
 Spin too hard
 Bigger plates are worse
 Sharp point on dowel
 Slow launch

17. Challenge # 2: Weight and
Width
 Make a new TOP with these extra materials
 Can you make it spin for 60 seconds
 Can you make a string launcher
MATERIALS
• 4 - 6 Heavy Paper Plates, various
sizes
• I dowel, pencil
• 2 Rubber Bumpers
• 2 Binder clips
• String and index card
Roles
• Builder
• Materials
• “Spy”
• Presenter

18. What do I do? What to think about
 Choose two plates of one size with
which to build your new top.
 Make a new top using all four
plates.
 Spin your top 3 times and measure
how long it spins each time.
 Add 2 more plates, spin 3 times,
and record the spin times again.
 Repeat this process until you have
filled all lines on data chart.
 What difference does adding
extra plates make?
 Is there an optimum (best) plate
size?

19. As the children make their new tops and test them, walk among
the teams to make sure that they are using a consistent
experimental procedure. Common errors they make in
procedure are:
1. Launch technique: Is the same person launching all tests and do they use the
same method?
2. Plates are at different heights on the dowel from one test to the next.
3. Plates are not squeezed tightly between rubber bumpers each time.
4. Children do not record results immediately and accurately.
5. Children use different standards for timing from one test to the next.
Troubleshooting

20. After ample time has passed, call the whole group together to
share their results. Do this even if some teams have not finished
testing yet. Pin or tape their data sheet on the wall and have
everyone take a look at the whole data set. Ask them:
• Does anything stand out for you from this data?
• Can you draw any firm conclusions about the best weight and width
for a top made from these materials?
They may still not be able to decide conclusively which
configuration works best. Some conclusions you can all agree
on are:
• Bigger plates seem to spin longer as long as you don’t use too many at
once.
• More plates seem to spin longer up to a point. After a certain number, it
gets harder to get them spinning at all.
• To really test the best design, all of the tops would have to start pinning at
the same speed.

21. Challenge# 3: Yo-Yos
 Make a Yo-Yo with these materials
 Can you make it spin back up to your hand
MATERIALS
• 2 Heavy Paper Plates
• I dowel
• 1 wooden spool
• Cotton string (30 inches)
• 2 Rubber Bumpers
Roles
• Builder
• Materials
• “Spy”
• Presenter

22. What do I do? What to think about
 Make a yo-yo with the materials
provided.
 Practice “releasing” your yo-yo so it
comes back up after it travels down
the string.
 If your yo-yo wobbles, make changes
to it that make it spin steadily.
 Why does the axle need to be fixed
tightly to the plate?
 Does it matter whether the axle in in
the middle of the plate?
 What is the best way to release the
yo-yo?

23. • What works (and what doesn’t)?
• What have you tried (and what happened)?
• What has worked for other teams?
Leading the Activity

24. Troubleshooting
Problem Possible Causes
 Plates wobble on the way down
 String catches on edges of plates
 Yo-yo will not climb back up string
 String slips out of hand
 Yo-yo falls freely but won’t climb
back more than half way
1.String not centered between plates
2.Plates not balanced
3.Axle not in center of plates
1.Platesfacing IN instead of OUT
2.String not in center of axle
1.String not tied tightly to axle
2.String rubbing on plates, creating
friction
1.Not using a slipknot loop
1.Not using the “little jerk trick”

25. Leading the Discussion
What Works What Doesn’t
 Holes in middle of plate
 String in middle between plates
 Rubber bumpers are tight
 Tight loop on finger
 Smaller plates spin faster
 Drop the yo-yo; don’t throw it
 Two sides balanced
 Hole not in middle
 Throw too hard
 Bigger plates are slower
 Slow launch
 Different sized (or number of)
plates on each side
 String loose on axle
• What would happen if you added more plates?
• What would happen if you used larger or smaller plates?
• How do you make the yo-yo come all the way back up to your hand?

26. Assessment
Skills Behaviors
 Think through their designs and
deal with problems in a skillful
manner.
 Work cooperatively together
 Describe to you and to each other
how they did whatever they did and
how it worked.
 Focus on what they actually see
happening rather than what they
think should happen.
 Taking turns and sharing the hands-
on work.
 Asking each other for help before
asking you.
 Listening when their peers share
ideas.
 Responding constructively to ideas.
 Making deliberate changes to their
designs to improve how they work.
 Making changes only one factor at a
time.
 Keeping accurate and clear data and
records, where appropriate.

27. Questions?
Copyright 2008 Education Development Center, Inc.
NPASS2 website:
http://npass2.edc.org