I just finished showing a couple of sections of Mechanical Universe to my
h.s. physics classes, specifically the ones on conservation laws. No rem
sleep here, because I point out things I want them to look for, and make
sure they know the concepts that are going to be shown. You can't do a lot
of these, but once in a while you can sneak in two modules in a class
period. I have made up my own questions on things in the module, such as
discussing bank shots in the momentum module with the guys playing pool.
H.S students like the cartoons in the modules, but there are too many boring
shots of old dead white scientists, and sometimes they try to cram the
equations in too fast. Also, since all of my students are minorities, they
like the fact that the Mech. Univ. tries to show different ethnic and racial
groups doing things related to physics, such as the men lifting weights, the
men playing pool, and the track and field events. Overall, I give the Mech.
Universe 2 stars.
Marty Weiss, Physics teacher
Woodrow Wilson HS, Camden, NJ