The SCIENCE OF BASEBALL website from the Exploratorium combines articles on the history of the sport, along with instruction for throwing varied pitches, and components that explore the forces involved in hitting the ball.
Young people will enjoy seeing if they can react fast enough to hit a 90 mph fastball. They’ll learn how to identify the “sweet spots” on a wooden bat, find out how bouncy a baseball is, and compare their bounciness with other sports balls like golf balls, basketballs, and tennis balls. They can also experiment with how temperature affects the ball.
Baseball is a Spring, Summer into Fall event. Keep in mind that interest is not limited to just boys. There is a section called “The Girls of Summer” that focuses on the history of female players.
Aimed at the middle grades, the site has several embedded video and audio clips. It uses an older version of Flash for the interactives that may not work on all systems. Librarians can find added resources on the ‘Baseball Links' page and the Bibliography list.
Lead into the World Series at your school. Use the Science of Baseball website as the centerpiece for a collaboration between classroom teachers and the school library. Incorporate math with activities for baseball statistics. Set up a MakerSpace center for related baseball experiments.
Find more ideas at the website, go to http://exploratorium.edu/baseball
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