There's no spin needed to describe the usefulness of a dizzying resource! Using paper plates, DVDs, wooden skewers, and pencils, learners work in teams to create spinning tops. The longest-spinning top wins.

Concepts

spinning, engineering design, angular momentum, technology resources

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Instructional Ideas

• Have a contest to see which group's top spins the longest
  

Classroom Considerations

• A lot of materials are required for the activity; see complete list in teacher guide
• Resource assumes students know how to use a hot glue gun, but you can replace it with double-sided tape for a safer activity
  

Pros

• Provides some optional activity variations
• Include a list of defined vocabulary
  

Cons

• None