The Center for Public Engagement with Science (PEWS) has partnered with Major League Soccer team FC Cincinnati on a program aimed at helping kids learn about science by connecting to sports. FC Cincinnati Foundation (FCCF) offers a range of programs focused on education, including fieldtrips for upper-elementary students to the TQL Stadium. The kids are guided in small groups through a series of activities related to science and sport, eat lunch in the stadium, and leave with swag and take-home science kits. This year, at the initiative of Michael Riley, Professor in the UC Department of Rehabilitation, Exercise & Nutrition Sciences, and with financial support from the UC College of Arts & Sciences, FCCF engaged with PEWS to develop brand-new fieldtrip activities.
This project was led by three graduate student interns: Maura Bennett (Health & Rehabilitation Sciences PhD student), Qianrong Gong (Philosophy PhD student), and Zoe Webb (Health & Rehabilitation Sciences PhD student). This team identified UC labs in a variety of disciplines to create fun activities connecting their research to soccer, sports, or the stadium. Participating researchers included Michael Riley (Health & Rehabilitation Sciences), Gabe Sanders (Exercise Science), Whitney Gaskins (Engineering), Kristina Shin (Fashion Design Technology), and Abby Peairs (Nutrition Sciences). Alongside the activities themselves, these researchers are featured in the field trip activity book in the style of sports cards, so students can get a sense for the range of people who are scientists and engineers right here in Cincinnati.
The introductory activity PEWS developed invites students to reflect on similarities between scientists and athletes, helping science and scientists seem more relatable. In the activities that follow, students learn about athleticism in the animal world (and how to collect and record scientific data), use the Magnus Effect to curve a soccer ball into a goal (practicing scientific prediction and testing), test their heart rates during rest and exercise (using instruments to collect data of different kinds), build a model of a knee joint (gaining familiarity with the idea of scientific models), see how uniforms of different fabrics wick away moisture (introducing the idea of controlled experiments), and make their own sports drinks (learning how science can support practical goals like nutrition and hydration). The take-home science kit students leave with encourages further exploration of all these themes.
Before delivering the activities and materials, the PEWS team pilot tested the activities at the Clifton Recreation Center, then revised the activities to involve the right degree of complexity and to ensure the right balance of fun and learning. When the activities, activity book, facilitator’s guide, and take-home kit were complete, the UC team met with the FC Cincinnati Foundation to hand off the materials and walk through the field trip. FCC will roll out the new activities soon, in school fieldtrips to TQL Stadium!
This project fits perfectly with the PEWS model of public engagement: collaborating across UC and with other organizations to create innovative opportunities for local communities to connect with science, and providing novel learning and leadership opportunities for UC students in the process.
A big thanks to everyone involved!
