Each spring, AAPT and Six Flags America co-sponsor a day set aside exclusively for physics students and teachers to have fun while experiencing the elements of physics first hand. The amusement park is temporarily transformed into a physics lab for thousands of middle and high school students to encounter Newton's Laws and other basics physics concepts, all while enjoying their favorite thrill rides.

Throughout the day, students can take measurements and then fill out a worksheet in order to solve a set of physics problems. AAPT representatives are in the park all day, providing students with data collection equipment as well as equipment that will allow them to see the results of the data they collected. This exercise helps each student gain a new understanding and appreciation of the practical side of what they learn in the classroom. Students also have the opportunity to attended physics demonstrations or to participate in academic competitions, such as the annual Roller Coaster Building Contest.

"Physics Day provides the unique opportunity to apply a student's knowledge in a 'hands-on atmosphere' and to motivate students' interest in science, as well as to relate abstract concepts to familiar examples in a fun way," said Warren Hein, Associate Executive Officer at AAPT. "What better laboratory to entice young people than an amusement park?"

AAPT is interested in parterning with amusement parks to start other regional physics days. For more information about Physics Day at Six Flags America, or about starting a Physics Day at your local amusement park, email Warren Hein.

View pictures from the 2004 Physics Day.
View pictures from the Roller Coaster Contest.