Physics in an Amusement Park: The Experience of University Students

Abstract

The paper describes an amusement park activity that provided a unique opportunity to facilitate tertiary-level student’s understanding of Physics. During the out-of-class session, the students were engaged in activities where they verified the validity of physics concepts learned inside the classroom. By experiencing physical phenomenon in a fun manner they developed a new experimental basis for determining whether an answer calculated in a classroom makes sense. An amusement park experience is an authentic real-life experiential learning tool that enhances students’ understanding of the conceptual and contextual applications of the laws of Physics.

Keywords: Amusement Park Physics, Constructivism, Experiential Learning, Physics Education Research, Scaffolding, University Students