DESTINATIONS

Trampoline Park Lesson Plan

Please note, this lesson plan was created by FieldTripDirectory.com as a general guide and is not specific to any particular venue listed on our site.

Trampoline parks, also known as “jump centers,” became popular in 1959 and 1960. They had a high accident rate back then, but in the 21st century, trampoline parks have returned to the world of indoor amusement and recreation with safer wall-to-wall trampoline surfaces.

Introduce your groups to the basic laws of physics by spending a day at the trampoline park. Students will learn how Newton’s Laws of Motion and how different types of energy transfers apply to trampolines, all while having fun.

FUN FACTS

– George Nissen, an American Gymnast, built the first trampoline in 1936.

– NASA Studies say that jumping on a trampoline is 68% more effective than jogging.

– The G-force on a trampolinist for each move is 14.2

– Trampolining enhances coordination, strength, flexibility, timing, and balance.

– The elasticity of a jumping mat is caused by the springs that attach the fabric of a trampoline to the train.

 

BEFORE YOU GO

  • Explore students’ prior knowledge of Newton’s Laws of Motion. Why does a hockey puck eventually stop when slide it on ice? Why do astronauts float when they are in space? Why does a basketball bounce back? Have students list their answers in a chart under What They Know. When they return from the fieldtrip, students can revisit the chart to complete the next column, What They Learned.
  • Review any relevant vocabulary and key terms.
    • Visit the website or call ahead to speak to a group sales person about special Trampoline programs, attractions, and rates for your school, scout, camp, or homeschool groups.

SKILLS

Vocabulary

  • Force (n): any interaction that, when unopposed, will change the motion of an object.
  • Motion (n): an act, process, or instance of changing place
  • Acceleration (n): the act or process of moving faster
  • Velocity (n): the quickness of motion or rapidity of movement
  • Gravity (n): the natural force that causes things to fall toward the earth
  • Inertia (n): existing in a state of rest or uniform motion, unless that state is changed by an external force
  • Energy (n): the property of mater and radiation that is manifest as a capacity to perform work
  • Potential Energy (n): the energy possessed by a body by virtue of its position relative to others, stresses within itself, and other factors
  • Kinetic Energy (n): energy that a body possesses by virtue of being in motion

CONTENT

  • Field Trip lesson connections provide a range of opportunities for learning how the basic laws of physics apply to the science of Trampolines
    • Discovery questions and facts about how a trampoline is made
    • Reading content on matter, energy transfer, forces, and motion.
    • Exploring how potential energy, which is stored in the springs of trampolines, and Kinetic energy, which is caused by motion on the trampoline, explain why students can jump to greater heights on a trampoline than you can from the ground.
    • Students investigate how jumping and bouncing on trampolines are explained by Newton’s Laws of Motion
    • Students write about how pushing their feet down on trampoline keeps them moving using Newton’s Third Law of Motion.

FOLLOW UP

  • Bring the trampoline fun back to your classroom with:
    • In-class discussion about gravitational forces and energy transfer.
    • Shared reading of student reflections.
    • Class presentation of other every day objects that apply to basic physics.