Mason Landon Smith

Roller Coaster Science is part of KiwiCo’s Kiwi Crate line. The Kiwi Crate line is a STEAM-based subscription line designed specifically for children ages 5-8.

I designed Roller Coaster Science to teach kids about the elusive concept of centrifugal force. Plus loop-the-loops are just really fun to play with. First, kids build roller coaster themed marble tracks. Then they build a spin-o-tron puzzles. The marble track’s loop-the-loop is a key learning point and the crate includes the question,

“Why doesn’t the marble fall off the the track when it goes upside down at the top of the loop?“

The answer being centrifugal force, of course. The second key learning point is in the spin-o-tron. The puzzle has a simple goal. Get both beads up onto their respective notches at the same time. The only way to solve the puzzle is by spinning. The solution to the puzzle is centrifugal force itself.

Watch the video below to see a glimpse of a user testing session for this project. This clip was recorded at the end of the session right after the kids had finished building.