Class Takes Science Lesson Outside Catapulting Pumpkins

The young adult students in class 538 at The Children’s Learning Center had been studying the principles of motion in some simple physics lessons recently.  Their teacher, Jeannette Landgon-Mirabella mentioned the topic at home to her family and her daughter, Nina Marie decided help bring some of the concepts alive for her Mom’s students.  Nina Marie designed and constructed a mini catapult device as part of her studies as a sophomore at Smithtown East HS.

On an usually warm and sunny day in late October, the class went outside to the playground area at CP Nassau.  One by one, they launched mini pumpkins on the catapult device.  There were smiles and laughter in the air as the group cheered one another on and watched to see how far their pumpkins would fly!

Flinging a little pumpkin in the air may seem like a silly activity, however there are all sorts of important scientific concepts behind it, including Newton’s laws about motion, force, inertia, and gravity.   Mix in the kindness of a high-school student, the camaraderie of a group and students and faculty, the warmth of the sun and laughter and smiles filling the air and the results are pretty remarkable!  A successful and meaningful lesson and experience, all in an afternoon at the Children’s Learning Center.