{"592132":{"#nid":"592132","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Baseball Launcher Competition Makes Science Fun for Students","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMore than 100 Metro Atlanta students, teachers, parents and volunteers gathered at the Georgia Tech Campus Recreation Center earlier this month for the finale of a competition that combines STEM education and baseball.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nMiddle school student teams from two Atlanta Public Schools and four Cobb County Schools used their science and engineering skills to build baseball launchers during the 2016-17 school year. Then on May 1st, teams brought their launchers to the CRC to test them for accuracy. Each team received a 10-minute practice session and three attempts to launch a baseball into a blue bucket. During the oral presentation portion of the competition, a panel of judges evaluated students on their STEM literacy skills.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u0026ldquo;Too many times children and adults are very smart, but don\u0026rsquo;t know how to explain scientific terms and concepts in a concise, coherent way,\u0026rdquo; said Mindy DiSalvo, GTRI senior research faculty and competition organizer.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPhysicists in GTRI\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.gtri.gatech.edu\/eosl\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EElectro-Optical Systems Laboratory\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;spent two months designing the launcher, and worked with\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gtri.gatech.edu\/machine-services\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EMachine Services\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;to develop materials and parts for the launcher kits. The device features altitude and elevation adjustments so \u0026ldquo;students can use it like a piece of artillery and try to hit the target by making multiple adjustments,\u0026rdquo; said Michael Knotts, GTRI principal research scientist and co-designer of the launcher.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This is not a trivial kit to assemble,\u0026rdquo; he continued. \u0026ldquo;There\u0026rsquo;s some very sophisticated parts. We wanted to stretch students a little bit, and they all rose to the challenge.\u0026rdquo;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nThe competition also included supporting activities developed by GTRI and the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ceismc.gatech.edu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ECenter for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing\u0026nbsp;(CEISMC)\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;to extend learning beyond building the device. Teachers and mentors appreciated the hands-on nature of the competition.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s much more engaging for students. Students need tactile, kinesthetic types of projects. And students are more drawn to that as opposed to completing book work,\u0026rdquo; said Charles Carr, 6th grade math teacher at Brown Middle School.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nAfter a tough deliberation, judges chose Cobb County\u0026rsquo;s Cooper Middle School and the team\u0026rsquo;s Star Wars-themed launcher as the winners of the competition. Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School, Brown Middle School, Floyd Middle School, Griffin Middle School and Hightower Trail Middle School also participated.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u0026ldquo;STEM is fun,\u0026rdquo; said David Thompson, Cooper Middle School student. \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s a more advanced, rigorous environment, which I think will challenge my intellectual ability to its fullest capacity. And that\u0026rsquo;s what I really want in life \u0026ndash; to be challenged.\u0026rdquo;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nThe Braves invited the Cooper team to use their launcher to throw out the first pitch at their May 5th game at SunTrust Park.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u0026ldquo;I hope they learned about teamwork, how to be leaders within their team and communicate better,\u0026rdquo; said Celeste Mercer, group sales account executive, Atlanta Braves. \u0026ldquo;That\u0026rsquo;s important for the Atlanta Braves as a team on the field, so we hope it translates to what the students have been doing for the past several months.\u0026rdquo;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nThe Atlanta Braves are the first professional sports team to enter into a research partnership with Georgia Tech. IPaT, the Atlanta Braves,\u0026nbsp;STEM@GTRI\u0026nbsp;and CEISMC sponsored the Braves STEM Competition.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech and the Atlanta Braves sponsored the inaugural Braves STEM Competition.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech and the Atlanta Braves sponsored the inaugural Braves STEM Competition."}],"uid":"27980","created_gmt":"2017-05-25 18:56:07","changed_gmt":"2019-07-10 20:06:08","author":"Alyson Key","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-05-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2017-05-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"69599","name":"IPaT"}],"categories":[{"id":"133","name":"Special Events and Guest Speakers"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"167258","name":"STEM"},{"id":"57391","name":"Atlanta Braves"},{"id":"416","name":"GTRI"},{"id":"174525","name":"Atlanta Public School"},{"id":"174526","name":"Cobb County Schools"},{"id":"4124","name":"baseball"},{"id":"174524","name":"launcher"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAlyson Powell\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer, Institute for People and Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Ealyson.powell@ipat.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}