Show #5
Initial Airdates:
Monday, October 12, 2009 at 7:00 pm;
Saturday, October 17 at 9 am

Trebuchet – Boys from Halsted Middle School in Newton design and build a trebuchet that launches pumpkins hundreds of feet through the air. Technology teacher Jim Hoffmann encourage his students to build the medieval weapon as part of a cross curriculum experience. The boys learn about physics, gravity, leverage, tension, torsion and mechanics. They operate the catapult at a local farm owned by Anthony and Heidi Lentini. More information.

Winslow Marathon – Frustrated by students complaining about running the half mile required by the Presidential Fitness Test, physical education Teacher Bruce Shaw challenges his students to a marathon. Winslow Township School No. 5 Elementary School students learn discipline, compassion, school spirit, increase their physical stamina, enthusiastically support each other, and gain an appreciation of physical challenges.

Cup Stacking – Third and fourth graders at Drew Perry Elementary School in East Windsor compete in cup stacking (also known as sport stacking or speed stacking), an individual and team sport that involves stacking specialized plastic cups in specific sequences in as little time as possible.  Non-athletic kids compete head-to-head with their more athletic counterparts.  This significantly raises their self-esteem, motivating them to work harder and participate in physical education classes.

Recycled Olympics – Students from the E.G. Hewitt Intermediate School in Ringwood compete in a recycled Olympics to demonstrate how much Americans use and throw away! Physical Education teacher Elizabeth Redner creates this cross curriculum project to challenge students to use recycled materials for events or games.  The entire school gets involved – especially students from PE, art, media, language arts and math classes.