Elementary School Students Learn Science At iFly Indoor Skydiving
FRISCO (CBSDFW.COM) - This is not likely how you learned about the science of gravity and air resistance in school when you were a kid, but a group of second-graders from Prestwick STEM Academy in the Little Elm Independent School District got a unique learning experience recently.
The class visited iFly in Frisco for a quick lesson on how the indoor skydiving facility works.
An instructor at iFly got the elementary school students amped up before they took flight. "We're here to have fun and talk about science," he explained. "When you're falling, you have gravity pulling you down. But what's pushing against you? The air!"
That is how iFly's indoor skydiving works. A vertical wind tunnel creates enough upward airflow to combat the steady force of gravity that is constantly pulling you down to the ground. This allows people to float in the air and simulate the sensation of skydiving.
After learning about the science, students got a chance to experience it for themselves.
"The kiddos are loving it. They love the hands-on," stated Prestwick STEM Academy assistant principal Marnie Richardson, adding that students will remember this experience for the rest of their lives. "We want to make sure they are loving STEM education, because that's where the jobs are and that's where there's a need."
"I went to the top and I was spinning," said student Cambria Richardson.
"Reading is boring and this is fun," said student Parker Morris.
There are iFly locations in both Frisco and Hurst, as well as Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Oklahoma City. The company operates more than 30 locations in North America and two in Brazil. Visit the iFly website for more information, or to book a flight of your own.