Slides are a favorite attraction in the playground, but our EY3 kids took it a step further by exploring the science behind how they function. On a sunny morning, an easy, rolling and sliding activity that is simple yet educational was planned for our EY3 children to explore the effects of gravity and friction on different objects as they roll and slide down.
Children used the playground slide as a ramp (or inclined plane) and explored the speed of various objects sliding down it. They discovered how some things roll or slide easily while other objects do not.
First, the children are asked to make a ‘guess’ as to which object will move faster. Then they placed the objects individually and rolled them down the slide. They observed that balls and round things don’t have any edges or sides and therefore roll due to gravity pulling them to the earth with little resistance because of their roundness. Objects with sides or edges can’t roll. When they move they slide with more resistance or friction because they DO NOT have roundness, instead, they have edges and flat or jagged, uneven sides.
