Rolling, Rolling Rolling

Making wheeled creations, whether from Legos, Tinker Toys or other construction toys, is a great fascination for many of the Scientists. The other day, the children had a great time rolling their creations down the "ramp" in the hallway outside our classroom. They had a chance to experience several areas of physics, ranging from "gravity" to "Is it better to push my creation down the ramp, or just let it roll freely?" Some children found that their creations rolled longer, and straighter, if just allowed to roll freely. Others were so excited that they had to give their creations a push - sometimes gently, sometimes not!
The excitment of this experience also provided a chance to learn other lessons - not scientific ones, but rather about the importance of cooperation and negotiation.
At first, too many people were too excited, and too many wheeled creations were sent rolling down the ramp at once. When I pointed out the problems of this "traffic jam" to the children, Noah suggested that the children could "take turns" rolling their creations. When I asked how they could best take turns, Noah suggested creating a line. Everyone quickly agreed, and the traffic of our rolling creations was soon flowing smoothly.
A traffic engineer in the making!