What it is: The winter Olympics start tomorrow and students around the world will be watching and rooting on their favorite Olympian, sport, or country. The Olympics offers some fun new learning opportunities to the classroom. Olympic Science is one such opportunity. NBC has several Olympic science videos in which students can learn about physics, motion, energy, biology, chemistry and math. Videos include Slapshot Physics, Aerial Physics, Figure Skating, Snowboarding, Alpine Skiing, Skates, Mathletes, Bobsled, Motion Inside the Body, Short Track, Modern Skis, Suit Up, Curling, Ski Jumping, Safety Gear, and The Internal Athlete. These videos walk students through the actual science that is taking place in the winter games.
How to integrate NBC Olympics- Olympic Science into the classroom: My students are always shocked to learn that there is a lot of math and science in athletics. These videos show students exactly how closely science and math are entwined in everyday life. Olympic Science videos are for students who are forever asking the question “how am I going to use this?” (and shouldn’t they all be asking this!). In the bottom right hand corner of the Olympic Science site you will find more science data. These are quick facts about the science in the sport. I really enjoy using video in the classroom, students can watch, rewind, pause, and re-think the concepts they are seeing. Combine the Olympic Science site with a Wallwisher where students describe the science in the sport, or create a Wordle with new science vocabulary that students learned.
Tips: The Science of the Olympic Games was produced by NBCLearn, part of NBC News that brings news, events, and issues into the classroom. There is a great video collection that includes Word Roots (an animated series that explores the roots of English words), Common Errors in English Usage (animated videos that uncover common errors in English grammar and usage), and Mini Documentaries (hundreds of 2-6 minute documentaries on American history, economics, culture, and political cartoons).
Please leave a comment and share how you are using NBC Olympics-Olympic Science in your classroom.
An excellent resource for older students. A great way to study physics!
I think that’s a really important point. Unless we know why we are acquiring knowledge and skills, we have little investment in it. I also think the videos sound a great way in to Maths and Science for kids who love sport.
Thank you for this timely find that I have shared out to my science teachers
The science teachers at my school will get a kick out of this. Thanks for the share. 🙂
I just went to the NBC learn site and was shocked to see there is a price involved in the videos. Do you have any idea how much it is?
What fantastic ideas for using the Olympics in the classroom. My students are about to begin a study of force and motion, and this will be a great resource. Thank you!
Some videos do cost. The winter Olympic science videos are free. I’m not sure how much the other videos are.
This is a fantastic resource! We often hear how teachers should find ‘real-world’ connections in their subject area, and this website does just that. Thank you for sharing!
I look forward to seeing your Olympics collection Vanessa. I really like the way that the Science of the Olympics breaks everything down for students.
Thank you for your resources. In fact, for a few days, I just watched Korean team’s games and I counted how many medals of each country were. I just felt how beautiful the pair skating player were. Then I quit watching TV. However, I visited NBC Olympics: Science of the Olympics due to this blog site. I was really surprised that NBC media had made such a good resources using winter Olympics about science and offered the learning site for educators and students about physics. If NBC media learning center doesn’t take money from this site, I think NBC media will contribute to American education’s an important role in education. Obviously, it’s difficult to assess how much impact on the science education in a word, but I really value their education initiative.