Especially when it comes to children, interactive games can be one of the most effective ways to educate. I recently discovered just how effective this could really be on a trip with my 9 year old nephew to Epcot Center. One of the first attractions that we visited that day was a fairly new addition to the park called the
Sum of all Thrills. After our visit there, my nephew could not stop talking about it for the rest of the day.
While the
Sum of All Thrills is not history related in any way, the approach it takes to education could be applied to virtually any field. It is set up specifically to teach math skills by allowing park visitors to first design, then build, and then ride on their own roller coaster. Of course, this could not be done in the real world but by employing an unusual assortment of technologies, the Disney Imagineers have managed to pull off the task in the virtual world.
To start with, the visitor sits through a short video that explains how math is crucial to roller coaster construction. They discuss topics such as inertia, g-forces, and potential energy and how these all interact in a successful roller coaster design. For example, if the roller coaster car does not have enough speed going into a loop, then it won’t be able to make it all the way over. If it has too much speed going into a turn, then uncomfortable g-forces will be experienced by the rider or worse yet, the car will fly off of the track.
The nascent coaster designer/builder/rider then goes to the design phase where he or she works on a Microsoft
Surface type worksurface. The designer decides on how high to make the hills, how many loops to employ, how fast the car will be going, etc. They also have the opportunity to decide the overall theme of the ride; will it simulate a bob-sled ride, a traditional roller coaster, or a ride in a jet fighter.
The most exciting part of the ride comes next. There are two roller coaster style seats affixed to the end of an industrial robot arm. Each seat has a hood with a video screen that blocks out all visual cues except what is on the video screen. On each screen, there also is a small picture in picture that shows the face of the person in the other seat. Once the ride begins, it is difficult to differentiate the ride from an actual roller coaster ride, except that there is no real roller coaster anywhere that can do in the real world what this coaster does in the virtual world. Suffice it to say, this ride is a blast.
When the visitor first began the design process, they are given a small plastic card that is swiped through a card reader. This is how the system keeps track of each coaster design and which design to load into the machine when it comes time to ride. We named our coaster design the
Subzero Torpedo, and when we swiped our cards in the simulator, the
Subzero Torpedo was immediately loaded. The card also gives the rider a web-site to go at a later date. This site,
mathmovesu.com, allows the designer to continue using the math principles learned to design and ride new and different roller coasters and learn other related math principles.
As I mentioned earlier, my nephew wanted to spend all day designing and riding roller coasters. He lost all interest in everything else at the park. Unfortunately for him, everyone else in our group wanted to do other things, so he was left with begging us to go back to Sum of All Thrills for the rest of the day. I can’t remember him every begging to take part in an educational activity like this before. I’d say that Disney and the attraction sponsor Raytheon have successfully married entertainment and education.
If I had any criticisms of the attraction, I would have to say that it would have been nice if the web-site had used the ID number on the card to show me the
Subzero Torpedo on my home computer. This would allow the park visitor to show his or her friends what they had done and this would further expand the universe of people learning these math skills. I can’t help but think that it my drive a few more people to Epcot Center as well.
