The Great Ball Drop Experiment

The connection between kids who play with toys like that ball-and-cup game which is, for some reason, actually called "Bilboquet" and people who eventually become physicists is probably a lot more obvious than most academics want to admit. "The Great Ball Drop Experiment" makes that connection exceptionally vivid.

As explained by physics students Shinichiro Sakaki and Lavell Blanchard: "The purpose of this project is to see if the 'Ball and Cup' trick outlined in our textbook (Physics; 3rd Edition; by Wilson & Buffa; Prentice Hall) truly works and if the angle of the top board and the weight of the top board will cause a change in the results of the trick, and to see if the ideas of Galileo hold true in this experiment." However, as we all know, the actual purpose was to see how much fun they could have in the name of learning, and vice versa. Reading their report is ample evidence of their ability to have both - a lot of fun, and some truly in depth learning about the workings of the physical world.

The history of physics is replete with stories like this - evidence of the functions of fun in stimulating and nurturing scientific advance. In case, after reading their scientific-like conclusions, you wonder if it really was as much fun as it looks like, double-click on the last image on their page of clips.