Thrill Ride

Designing a Roller Coaster Experience!

Photo by: https://www.frenchlick.com/activities/seasonal/areaattractions

A BIT OF ROLLER COASTER HISTORY
‣ So how did roller coasters get to where they are today?
Here is a fantastic, basic overview of the history taken from
Roller Coasters: Inventing the Scream Machine.
The first roller coasters can be dated back to the 15th century in the Russian Mountains. The coasters were
built out of lumber and tree trunks and used man-made ice to help the sleds travel down the hills. These Russian Mountain roller coaster

coasters covered several city blocks and people had to climb up 70 feet to get to the top of the ride. In
1804, the coasters were brought to Paris where small wheels were added and thirteen years later, locking
wheels, continuous tracks and cables were installed.

In 1784, roller coasters were transformed into carriages in grooved tracks that traveled up and down small
hills. About 50 years later, the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway in Pennsylvania was built. This allowed for
Josiah White, a mining company entrepreneur, to design Gravity Road in 1837 that carried coal on a nine-
mile journey from Summit Hill to Mauch Chunk. This track consisted of 14 cars that pulled 50,000 pounds of
Gravity Road
coal. People were so fascinated with the coaster that in the afternoons, people could pay 50 cents to ride.

Trolley companies were inspired by the ride element of Gravity Road that they allowed people to ride their
tracks in the evenings and weekends. The most famous trolley at the time was Coney Island in New York
City. Coney Island helped start the roller coaster trend in the United States. In 1885, Phillip Hinkle created
the Hinkle coaster, which was the first elliptical coaster and it featured a powered hoist that pulled cars to
the top of the first hill. By the end of the 1800s, roller coaster designers were experimenting with loop tracks
in Paris. However, the riders found the loops to be uncomfortable and dangerous, which stopped the
addition of loop tracks until 1895.
First loop track in Paris

Roller coasters were destroyed during the Great Depression but became popular again when Walt Disney
opened Disneyland in California in July of 1955. His success encouraged other entrepreneurs to open
themed amusement parks. During this time, steel coasters started taking place of the wooden coasters and
suspended and stand-rides were introduced. By 1999, there were a total of 120 new roller coasters in the
world, and 61 in the United States. Today, there are just under 900 rides in the world! In today’s world,
building a new roller coaster can cost as much as $15 million dollars.

Wooden roller coaster

http://academic.eb.com
UNPACKING LAUREN CROSBY AND JAMES OLLIVER
Group Talk

‣ How has Lauren Crosby incorporated

her retail merchandising and product
development background into
designing Thunderbird?
She helped bring themes into the park to make the
elements of the park cohesive.

‣ How has James Olliver’s engineering

experience contributed to designing
Thunderbird?
The non-riders are able to experience the ride by
being able to see the main aspects of it from the park.

‣ How did Lauren Crosby and James

Olliver come together to create
Thunderbird?
They both had a strong focus on theme and
inclusion. Why is their teamwork important?

‣ Would you consider this roller coaster a

piece of art? Why or why not?
You might discuss the architecture, structure and
design elements.
 UNPACKING LAUREN CROSBY AND JAMES OLLIVER
Group Talk

‣ Crosby and Olliver both use art and

science when planning to design a roller
coaster. How do art and science come
together? Can you have one without the
other when designing a coaster? What
other aspects of our lives do we see art
and science working together? Is there
another school subject that is involved in
this process?

‣ What challenges might art and science

working together cause when designing
a coaster? Is one more important than
the other?

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/rides/Thrill- https://www.visitkingsisland.com/banshee/the-
Rides-12-14-11-44/Invertigo ride
 Group Talk

‣ Can the earliest roller coasters be considered art? Why or

why not?

‣ How did engineering play a role in transforming the roller

coasters?

‣ Would you be willing to ride some of the earliest roller

coasters? Why or why not?

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/08/17/travel/17Coasters.html?_r=0
 LETS TALK PHYSICS
‣ If we are going to understand how artists such as Lauren Crosby and James Olliver
use physics, it would be best to know some basic background info about physics
and energy. Here are some engaging questions to begin with:

Group Talk

‣ What experience do any of you have with physics? How have you
experienced physics in everyday life?
‣ Have you ever used physics to create anything?
‣ What is energy? How does energy play an important role in our lives?
‣ Why should we study energy?

https://scienceisntscary.wordpress.com/tag/
potential-energy/
ACCELERATION OF GRAVITY

http://www.wonderwhizkids.com/roller-coasters
 LET’S TALK GRAVITY
The first person thought to have discovered gravity is Sir Isaac
Newton, who was born in 1643 in England. During his time as a
fellow at Trinity College in Cambridge, Newton formed his three Group Talk
laws of motion. He researched and made changes to his laws as
time went on.

When people hear of Newton, they immediately picture him sitting

underneath an apple tree as an apple falls to the ground. Historians ‣ How does gravity play a role
are still debating to this day how accurate the story is, however, the
science behind it is considered to be true. Newton realized that in roller coasters? How
there was an unknown force that caused the apple to go from a important is that role?
resting position to moving. This force is now known as gravity.
http://www.biography.com/people/ Without gravity, what would
isaac-newton-9422656
happen?
Gravity can be defined as an invisible force that pulls objects towards the center of the earth
or towards other physical objects that have mass.
‣ How does gravity play a role
At the time of Newton’s discovery, people knew that there was a reason for objects falling, in our everyday lives? Where
but they didn’t understand that it applied to all objects, no matter the size. What they then do we see gravity at work?
discovered was that objects with more mass had more gravity, which means they have a
stronger pull.

Gravity plays a crucial part in space because it serves as the “glue” that holds the planets
and galaxies together. Without gravity in space, planets and galaxies would be floating
around without following a specific path or orbit.

Check out how acceleration, gravity, and more forces play a role in roller coasters.
 HANDS-ON WITH GRAVITY
Thanks to Scientific Jam, there is a great activity for students to explore measuring
the acceleration of gravity. Check out this link to find a handout for the activity.

https://www.emaze.com/@ALFFWTZR/
Roller-Coaster-Project
Group Talk

‣ How can this exploration be used in designing a roller coaster?

‣ How does gravity work to keep riders from falling off the ride when
they ride loops?
HANDS-ON WITH ROLLER COASTERS
Ready to create your own roller coaster? Let’s give it a shot!
The Teaching Channel has a great video that walks you through step-by-step on how to set
up this activity in your classroom. Remember that it is your classroom so be mindful to
tailor this activity to your specific group of students. Depending on the resources available
to you, time and your students, there are many ways you can make adaptations to this
project while still including the content.

‣ Instead of a computer software simulation, you can have your students test their roller
coaster through this safety inspection virtual roller coaster. The app, Coaster Frenzy, is
another resource to engage your students in a virtual test run.
Provided on the following page is an example of a way to assess students throughout the
process of testing their roller coasters.

Group Talk https://www.teachengineering.org

‣ Did you see art play a role in designing your coaster? Why or Why not? If yes, how
important is the role of art in this project? What is the relationship between art and
engineering?
‣ If you were creating this roller coaster for an amusement park, would theme change your
design? Why or why not?

‣ What outside factors, like weather, might affect the performance of your coaster? How
would they change the performance? What would you as an engineer need to change
about your coaster to make it safe for your riders?
 Group Members:____________________________________________________________________
Trial Number: _______ Date: _______

What was successful in this trial? Why?

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

What scientific or design problems arose? What was the reason for the problem?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

What adjustments will you make to fix your coaster? Why?

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS
Within every episode we strive to meet every content standard
within the National Core Arts Standards. Please be sure to
include and reference these standards when preparing and
documenting your lessons.
For additional, and more in-depth information, you can reference
this site.

Associated Anchor Standards

Creating!
#VA:Cr1.1!
Anchor Standard: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
Enduring Understanding: Creativity and innovative thinking are essential life skills that can be developed.
Essential Question: What conditions, attitudes, and behaviors support creativity and innovative thinking? What factors
prevent or encourage people to take creative risks? How does collaboration expand the creative process?

#VA:Cr1.2!
Anchor Standard: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
Enduring Understanding: Artists and designers shape artistic investigations, following or breaking with traditions in
pursuit of creative art-making goals.
Essential Question: How does knowing the contexts histories, & traditions of art forms help us create works of art &
design? Why do artists follow or break from established traditions? How do artists determine what resources are needed
to formulate artistic investigations.

#VA:Cr2.1!
Anchor Standard: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
Enduring Understanding: Artists and designers experiment with forms, structures, materials, concepts, media, and art-
making approaches.
Essential Question: How do artists work? How do artists and designers determine whether a particular direction in their
work is effective? How do artists and designers learn from trial and error?
EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS
Creating!
#VA:Cr2.3!
Anchor Standard: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
Enduring Understanding: People create and interact with objects, places, and design that define, shape, enhance, and
empower their lives.
Essential Question: How do objects, places, and design shape lives and communities? How do artists and designers
determine goals for designing or redesigning objects, places, or systems? How do artists and designers create works of art
or design that effectively communicate

#VA:Cr3.1!
Anchor Standard: Refine and complete artistic work.
Enduring Understanding: Artist and designers develop excellence through practice and constructive critique, reflecting
on, revising, and refining work over time.
Essential Question: What role does persistence play in revising, refining, and developing work? How do artists grow
and become accomplished in art forms? How does collaboratively reflecting on a work help us experience it more
completely?

!
!
EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS
Responding!
#VA:Re7.1!
Anchor Standard: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
Enduring Understanding: Individual aesthetic and empathetic awareness developed through engagement with art can
lead to understanding and appreciation of self, others, the natural world, and constructed environments.
Essential Question: How do life experiences influence the way you relate to art? How does learning about art impact
how we perceive the world? What can we learn from our responses to art?

#VA:Re7.2!
Anchor Standard: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
Enduring Understanding: Visual imagery influences understanding of and responses to the world.
Essential Question: What is an image? Where and how do we encounter images in our world? How do images influence
our views of the world?

#VA:Re8.1
Anchor Standard: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.
Enduring Understanding: People gain insights into meanings of artworks by engaging in the process of art criticism.
Essential Question: What is the value of engaging in the process of art criticism? How can the viewer "read" a work of
art as text? How does knowing and using visual art vocabularies help us understand and interpret works of art?

#VA:Re7.2!
Anchor Standard: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
Enduring Understanding: Visual imagery influences understanding of and responses to the world.
Essential Question: What is an image? Where and how do we encounter images in our world? How do images influence
our views of the world?
EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS
Connecting!
#VA:Cn11.1!
Anchor Standard: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.
Enduring Understanding: People develop ideas and understandings of society, culture, and history through their
interactions with and analysis of art.
Essential Question: How does art help us understand the lives of people of different times, places, and cultures? How is
art used to impact the views of a society? How does art preserve aspects of life?

#VA:Re8.1
Anchor Standard: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.
Enduring Understanding: People gain insights into meanings of artworks by engaging in the process of art criticism.
Essential Question: What is the value of engaging in the process of art criticism? How can the viewer "read" a work of
art as text? How does knowing and using visual art vocabularies help us understand and interpret works of art?

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