Bowie Students Study the Science of Spin with Yo-Yos

Bowie Elementary students were all smiles on Thursday, January 15, 2015, after spending much of the day with their hand-held learning devices: the timeless yo-yo.  Valerie Oliver of the Science of Spin program demonstrated many of the basics of science with the yo-yo and other spinning devices such as wheels, spin tops, flying discs, and gyroscopes. Following a half-hour educational assembly with all the grades, the lower grades dismissed while Oliver continued her demonstration with the older students. Throughout the balance of the day, Oliver conducted hands-on skill building in all the K-5 PE classes with the assistance of Coach Rose Berglund.

Science concepts discussed with Oliver and then back in the classrooms and gym included friction, levers, potential and kinetic energy, gyroscopic stability, planes of spin, distribution of mass, rotational inertia, transfer of energy, and simple systems.

Spin Master Valerie Oliver is the 2003 World Female Spin Top Champion and winner of the 2006 World Award for Yo-Yo Excellence – among many other accolades.  Her husband Dale (also a World Champion and National Yo-Yo Master) is her partner in the Science of Spin programs. Valerie Oliver has written articles about Yo-Yo and Spin Top history that appear on several online sites, including the Museum of Yo-Yo History’s web site at www.yoyomuseum.com.

Coach Berglund was taking notes to re-visit with her PE classes this week, citing that practicing with a yo-yo improves hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, sequencing, and many other physical fitness concepts. Both Berglund and Oliver repeatedly emphasized the importance of “practice-practice-practice.”

According to Oliver’s history articles, the yo-yo is believed to have originated in China, but the first artifacts of early yo-yos were found in Greece around 500 B.C.  Drawings resembling yo-yos are found in ancient Egyptian temples. Made primarily from wood, metal, or terra cotta, the yo-yo is more often a toy or form of entertainment, but some cultures may have used a version as a tool to hunt.

Oliver says, “Although the yo-yo has gone through periods of hibernation in its trek through the ages, its popularity, just like the toy itself, always comes back.”