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Article
The Physics of Skateboarding: Making Science Relevant, Engaging and Motivational
APS News (2017)
  • William H. Robertson
Abstract
For me, skateboarding became the vehicle that lead to my success in education.  In fact, the skills I learned in skateboarding, such as practice, creativity, discipline, persistence and setting goals, later made me successful in school. For young people, by knowing the terms, they can in effect learn more, when they can see practical applications in their own lives. My inspiration for choosing skateboarding to teach physics came from my work with middle school students who were not interested in the topics of science class until I showed how much of physics, such as forces and motion, were found in things they did regularly -- such as skateboarding. So, this idea that there was a lot of physics in skateboarding led me to coin the phrase Action Science. It has the action of action sports, and has the science of motion, forces, Newton’s Laws of Motion and simple machines.  
Keywords
  • physics,
  • action science,
  • physical science
Publication Date
Winter January 15, 2017
Citation Information
William H. Robertson. "The Physics of Skateboarding: Making Science Relevant, Engaging and Motivational" APS News Vol. 26 Iss. 1 (2017)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/robertson/30/