YSZ Third Graders Bring Physics To Life With Shoebox Pinball

Community
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

Third-grade girls at Yeshiva Sha’arei Zion stepped into the role of young engineers when they designed and built working pinball machines out of shoeboxes. The hands-on project blended creativity with real science: as students constructed ramps, bumpers, and obstacles, they experimented with motion, gravity, and force in action. Through trial and error, they saw firsthand how a ball remains at rest or keeps moving unless something pushes or stops it—bringing Newton’s First Law of Motion to life in a fun, collaborative, and memorable way. The result was not just impressive pinball boards, but budding confidence in problem-solving, design thinking, and STEM learning.