NBC Learn has teamed up with NBC Olympics and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to produce a 16-part online video series that highlights the science behind winter sports, demonstrating how athletes preparing for the Vancouver Winter Games ski, skate, jump, and curl their way to Olympic gold. Each video illustrates how scientific principles apply to competitive sports. This is a great opportunity for educators to incorporate the Olympics into the classroom. It will engage both athletes and non-athletes alike with video titles such as:

In each video, an NSF-supported scientist explains how a specific scientific principle applies to the sport. The athlete’s movements are captured on high-speed camera and then slowed down to illustrate scientific principles such as Newton’s Three Laws of Motion, the Law of Conservation of Angular Momentum, friction drag, speed, and velocity.

 

Athletes who are featured in the videos include:

Rachael Flatt (figure skating)—straight-A high school senior

Julie Chu (hockey)—two-time Olympic medalist and Harvard graduate

John Shuster (curling)—2006 Olympic bronze medalist

Emily Cook (freestyle skiing)—2006 Olympian

J.R. Celski (short track speed skating)—2010 Olympic hopeful

Liz Stephens (cross-country skiing)—2010 Olympic hopeful

 

For more information, see the article, The Science of the Olympic Winter Games.