Hands-On STEM Learning Through Roller Skating
Bring science, technology, engineering, and math to life with an educational field trip built around the science of roller skating.
Elementary educators can choose from 10 activity-based STEM lesson options designed to connect classroom learning with real-world experiences at the rink.
Choose the Lesson That Fits Your Classroom
Our STEM field trips combine approximately one hour of STEM instruction with approximately two hours of roller skating and physical activity. Select the lesson that best supports what your students are learning.
The Science of Roller Skating
Students explore the parts of roller and inline skates and learn how each component helps the skate function. They also examine how different rink surfaces affect a skate in motion and use creativity and design thinking to imagine a new skate feature.
Topics: Geometry, Friction, Reverse Engineering, Design
Motion & Skate Design
Students are introduced to the physics of roller skating through the parameters of motion. They then apply what they learn to an open-ended challenge involving their own skate design.
Topics: Motion, Physics, Design
Music, Math & Roller Skating
Students count using the beats of music played in a roller rink and examine how different types of music can affect skating speed. Older elementary students can also explore controlling speed by using the beat.
Topics: Sound Waves, Beats per Minute, Frequency
Super Sound! Acoustics & Rink Design
Students explore what sound waves look like and how they travel through different mediums. They investigate sounds found in a roller rink, including differences in speaker pitch and tone.
Topics: Sound Waves, Doppler Effect, Sound System Design
Science of Lighting
Students learn about the speed of light, how light travels, and how reflection and refraction create some of the lighting effects used inside a roller skating rink.
Topics: Electromagnetic Spectrum, Speed of Light, Light Waves
Heart, Health & Fitness
Students explore basic human biology, heart-related anatomy, nutrition, and exercise. Activities can include finding and calculating average heart rate and learning how nutrition labels relate to healthy choices.
Topics: Basic Anatomy, Heart Health, Calculating an Average, Labeling a Graph
Formulas, Fractions & Fun
Students discover math throughout the skating rink by measuring and calculating skating speed, using mean, median, and mode, and identifying shapes found throughout the facility.
Topics: Mean, Median, Mode, Geometry, Calculating Speed
Newton’s Laws of Motion
Students learn Newton’s three laws and connect them to real-world experiences and roller skating. They explore how force and mass affect motion and participate in a balloon-rocket activity.
Topics: Motion, Inertia, Force
The Science Behind Roller & Ice Hockey
Students explore how STEM plays a major role in sports, especially roller and ice hockey. They compare skate types and examine how skating equipment and physical forces can affect movement and performance.
Topics: Physics, Force, Potential Energy, Motion
Arcade STEM
Students investigate reaction time and how it relates to arcade games, then explore probability and ways game design can be improved through engineering and experimentation.
Topics: Reaction Time, Probability, Engineering Through Game Design
Plan an Elementary STEM Field Trip
Contact us for current pricing, group requirements, available dates, lunch information, and help choosing the lesson that best fits your class.