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Home , Amusement park, Bumper cars, List of amusement rides, Pirate ship (ride), Trolley park

Create Your Own Amusement Challenge

What is the ultimate combination of physics and fun? An , of course!

A little history According the Guinness Book of World Records:

“Bakken, located in Klampenborg, North of (), opened in 1583 and is currently the oldest operating amusement park in the world. The park claims to have over 150 attractions, including a wooden built in 1932.

In medieval Europe, most major cities featured what is the origin of the amusement park: the pleasure gardens. These gardens featured live , , dancing, games and some primitive amusement rides. Most closed down during the 1700's, but Bakken is the only one to survive.”

Lots of towns, both big and small, in the had some sort of amusement park in the late 1800’s to early-mid 1900’s. Many started out as trolley created by streetcar companies to give people a reason to use their services on weekends. These parks had areas and pavilions to hold dances and concerts. Many evolved over time to include swimming pools, , roller coasters, Ferris wheels, and boat rides becoming the modern amusement park. It is reported there were between 1,500 - 2,000 amusement parks in the United States by 1919. Today there are more than 10,000 in the United States alone!

There are still some of these historical parks still in existence like Knoebels Amusement in . Originally known as Knoebels Grove, this park opened in 1926 and still family owned. Other parks, such as Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, are internationally know today but started as in 1907. (Milton Hershey built a trolley line that led right to the entrance of his park!) Some more recent parks were developed as franchises such as or theme parks such as Disney.

Amusement parks and their rides have world-wide attraction and create a following such as National Amusement Park Historical Association and American Coaster Enthusiast.

www.gsdsw.org [email protected] 915-566-9433 Types of rides

• Flat rides are those that keep their passengers on the ground, in most cases. The ride spins around some vertical axis like a carousels/merry-go-round or things like or spinning tea cups. Rides like the Spider has the riders in the air going up and down, however, the arms still spin around a vertical axis.

• Vertical rides are like flat rides but are vertical instead of horizontal. The passengers move round a fixed point. Ferris wheels and pendulum rides like the are two examples.

• Gravity rides are rides where gravity does work for at least some, if not all, of the work. The vertical movement is not centered on a fixed point. Roller coasters and water slides are examples.

• Theme rides/attractions are dark rides and fun houses. Dark rides are an indoor ride which passengers travel through scenes that contain music, special effects, and animation. Tunnel of Love and haunted ghost rides are examples. Fun houses are visitor participation attractions that have things that distort reality, like special mirrors or floors that move. Visitors walk through fun houses encountering playful obstacles meant to startle people in a wacky way.

www.gsdsw.org [email protected] 915-566-9433 The Challenge

Design and Build a Ride Using the types of ride categories as a guide, you will need to design and construct a ride for your amusement park. There are no challenge restrictions; make the ride for your doll, stuffed animal, or family member. Use as much materials found in your house as possible. Hit the recycling bin and see what you can find. Be creative - go wild! You are only limited by your imagination. Take a photo of your ride in action.

Research a Park Do some research on an amusement park you have never visited. It can be a park that no longer exists but maybe was located in your home town or a park in a foreign country or one that has been on your bucket list for years. Try to find out: • Who designed and built it • When was it open • If it is no longer open, when and why did it close? • Was anything unique about it? • Why would you want to visit it? Be specific, don’t just say “to have fun.”

Research a Ride OR Career Exploration Research a Ride Amusement park rides are all about physics and engineering. Velocity, load capacity, , and height all play into how a ride works, how exciting it is, and most importantly, how safe it is. Not all rides are created equal and not all rides were safe with the first version. As technology, architecture, and construction processes improve so do variations and the next incarnation of the ride.

For example, the loop of a roller coaster is a common component of many roller coasters today, however, the very first loop was very dangerous to the riders. The Flip Flap Railway was the very first loop roller coaster and it was wooden!

The Flip Flap Railway was infamous for the extreme g-forces that it produced. The loop was a 25 foot diameter circle that could produce 12 g. That much force caused riders to be uncomfortable and some experienced whiplash. Today, looping roller coasters use a teardrop shape loop that greatly reduces the g-forces.

Career Exploration (NOTE: this option will fulfill requirements for STEM Career badges. ) Have an interest in engineering? Contact a ride manufacturer asking about career options in the amusement park ride industry. Ask questions about required , job prospects, salary and advancement, their day to day work, etc.

www.gsdsw.org [email protected] 915-566-9433 Level Requirements Research a Ride Design & Build Design & Build Level Research a Park Or Career One Ride Two Rides Exploration Daisy X X Brownie X X Junior X X X Cadette X X X Senior X X X Ambassador X X X

A few online resources

National Amusement Park Historical Association http://lostamusementparks.napha.org/ American Coaster Enthusiasts https://www.aceonline.org/ Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_amusement_rides The University of Sheffield National Fairground Archive http://www.nfa.dept.shef.ac.uk/history/index8.html Park World https://www.parkworld-online.com/ Statista https://www.statista.com/topics/2805/amusement-and-theme-parks/ Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, Inc. (roller coaster builder) https://www.bolliger-mabillard.com/ Amusement Rides https://www.intamin.com/ Theme Park Engineering https://interestingengineering.com/what-you-need-to-do-to-become-a-theme-park-engineer

Submit your Challenge Report Deadline is May 31, 2021 (patches will be mailed out after 3-4 weeks after deadline)

http://bit.ly/amusementparkchallengereport

www.gsdsw.org [email protected] 915-566-9433