- balls (small; should fit through tubes)
- camera or cellphone (optional)
- flexible hoses (sump pumps or shop vacs)
- paper cups
- tape (masking or duct)
- tubes (various lengths and diameter) (packing tubes, paper towel tubes, etc.)
- faster
- slower
- steeper
MA Standards:
Language/L.PK.MA.6: Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, listening to books read aloud, activities, and play.
MA Draft STE Standards:
Physical Sciences/Motion and Stability; Forces and Interaction/PS2.A: Plan and carry out investigations of the behaviors of moving things.
Physical Sciences/Motion and Stability; Forces and Interaction /PS2.B: Using evidence, discuss ideas about what is making something move the way it does and how some movements can be controlled. [Cause and Effect, Stability and Change]
Head Start Outcomes:
Logic and Reasoning/Reasoning and Problem Solving: Recognizes cause and effect relationships.
Science Knowledge/Scientific Skills and Method: Uses senses and tools, including technology, to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships.
Science Knowledge/Scientific Skills and Method: Participates in simple investigations to form hypotheses, gather observations, draw conclusions, and form generalizations.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Language 2: Participate actively in discussions, listen to the ideas of others, and ask and answer relevant questions.
Science and Technology/Inquiry Skills 2: Make predictions about changes in materials or objects based on past experience.
Explore Together (indoors): Building Tube Tracks
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
STEM Key Concepts: A ramp, or inclined plane, is a surface with one end higher than the other; An object placed on an inclined plane will roll, slide, or stay put; The shape of an object affects whether it will roll or slide or stay put; Objects that slide are more likely to move on steeper inclines, and both rolling and sliding objects move faster down steeper inclines
ELA Focus Skills: Speaking and Listening, Vocabulary
Educator Prep: Cut lengths of tape and stick to table-tops or chairs for children to grab for support while they are building their tracks.
Invite children to make tube tracks using the materials. Demonstrate for children how to hold a cardboard tube at a slant and send a ball through it. As they explore, ask questions such as,
- How can you make the ball go slower? Faster?
- What do you think would happen if you made the tube longer? Have children tape tubes together to make long tube tracks.
Allow children to continue to explore on their own or with partners. If children are working with partners, encourage them to take turns catching the ball in a cup as it comes out of the tube.
If possible, let children take their tube tracks and a ball home for further exploration.
Reflect and Share
Have children share their discoveries, talk about their challenges, and tell how they made changes to their tracks to make the ball move differently. Show some of the photos and drawings and have children describe what they were doing. To prompt discussion, ask questions such as:
- How did you change your tube track to make the ball go faster? Slower? Why did that help the ball move (faster/slower)?
- What happened when you made your tube track steeper? longer?
Take It Further: A plastic egg is an interesting roller with odd movements. Put a lump of clay inside the egg and seal it shut with tape. Have children describe how the egg moves and think about why it moves that way.