MEMS 411: Pinskee Ball - A Work-Energy Demo

Authors

Kyle Puckett, Washington University in St. LouisFollow
Helena Teixeira-DaSilva, Washington University in St. LouisFollow
Seth Kleinberg, Washington University in St. LouisFollow
Sydney Norstad, Washington University in St. LouisFollow

Publication Date

Fall 2023

Document Type

Final Report

Embargo Date

12-8-2023

Problem Statement

The goal of our project is to develop a fun and engaging Work-Energy Demo for Dr. James Potter of Washington University in St. Louis and a Science Center or Children's Museum. We aim to teach 6 - 10 year old children about Work-Energy and Energy Transfer in a fun, engaging, and competitive way by using an arcade style machine. The following project is intended to be a Pinball-Based Conservation of Energy Demo/Game for a Science Museum. Using both pinball and skeeball characteristics, this device will give kids thorough knowledge of work energy systems in a fun and interactive way. The idea is that kids will learn that changing the distance pulled back on the spring changes the work put into the ball, thus changing the target the mass hits each time.

Author's School

McKelvey School of Engineering

Author's Department

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Class Name

Mechanical Engineering Design Project (MEMS 411)

Recommended Citation

Puckett, Kyle; Teixeira-DaSilva, Helena; Kleinberg, Seth; and Norstad, Sydney, "MEMS 411: Pinskee Ball - A Work-Energy Demo" (2023). Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class. 210.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/mems411/210