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I like to move it, move it!
At the Magic City Discovery Center, physics isn't something you just read about in a textbook. It's something you feel, build, and set into motion!
Our MOVE Gallery provides an action-packed introduction to the fundamentals of physical science. Designed with large active contraptions surrounding hands-on experimentation stations, MOVE kinetically introduces visitors of all ages to core physics concepts like simple machines, gravity, velocity, energy transfer, and acceleration.
What You’ll Find inside our MOVE Gallery
Whether you’re testing a hypothesis, designing a wild hairpin turn, or using your own body weight to explore mechanical advantage, MOVE offers endless ways to experiment:
Grain Gizmotron: In this huge exhibit, kids can work together to shift grain between storage drums using Archimedes screws, conveyor belts, elevators, and pulleys. It’s a team-building powerhouse where young managers intuitively assign roles to shovel, tip, pour, and sift!
Pulley Chairs: Experience "mechanical advantage" firsthand! Using a system of pulleys, visitors can harness body-on physics to pull themselves straight up into the air.
Roller Coaster Designer: Build your own custom track and test the limits of gravity, momentum, and centripetal force! Can you construct a run that keeps the ball moving without dropping out or jumping the track during a sharp curve?
Magnetic Ball Wall: Attach pipes, elbows, tees, and tracks to a steel wall to engineer elaborate chain reactions, jumps, and ball pathways.
Slinky Treadmill: Adjust the speed of a specialized treadmill and test your timing to see how long you can keep a classic Slinky walking downhill.
Pendulum Wave: Set a series of uncoupled pendulums into motion and watch as varying string lengths create hypnotically dancing wave patterns!
Rope Thrower: Adjust angles and disrupt a motorized loop of flying rope to discover how wave patterns form and change in real-time.
The "Secret" Science: Why Playing with Motion Matters
While children are busy blasting balls down tracks and cranking levers, they are practicing real-world physics aligned with North Dakota Science Standards and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS):
Forces & Interactions: Testing how the strength and direction of a push or pull alters speed and trajectory.
Simple Machines in Everyday Life: Discovering the practical power of levers, inclined planes, screws, wheels and axles, wedges, and pulleys.
Energy Transfer & Inertia: Exploring how potential energy converts into kinetic energy, and observing what happens during collisions.
Engineering & Design: Testing a model, analyzing why it failed, and tweaking the design—building resilience, critical thinking, and spatial reasoning along the way.
Guiding Discovery in the MOVE Gallery
You don’t need a degree in mechanical engineering to facilitate big learning moments! Here are simple ways adults can support play and problem-solving:
Ask Open-Ended "What If" Questions:
"What happens when we change the angle of this ramp?"
"How can we make the ball go faster or travel further?"
"How does that pulley make it easier to lift your weight?"
Connect MCDC to Home: Ask your child, "Where else have you seen simple machines like levers, screws, or wheels outside the museum?"
Let Them Lead the Build: Resist the urge to fix a falling track right away! Let your child test their setup, fail safely, analyze the problem, and explain their workaround to you.
Simple Machine Hunt:
Challenge your young scientist to hunt down all six simple machines inside the MOVE gallery:
Wheel and Axle
Lever
Inclined Plane
Pulley
Screw
Wedge
Ready to get moving? Bring your big ideas, team up at the Gizmotron, and discover how fun physical science can be on your next visit to the Magic City Discovery Center!
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