Coasting Along at Glenfield Middle School for a National Contest

Seventh graders at Glenfield Middle School have taken a hands-on approach to geometry. Indeed, the students in math teacher Courtney Washington’s CI Geometry class designed and amassed an extraordinary roller coaster built entirely out of K’NEX.

The project was undertaken to compete in a national contest. Cedar Point Amusement Park—the self-proclaimed roller coaster capital of the world—challenged students across the country to use K’NEX and build an original roller coaster. The chosen model will be put on display at the Ohio amusement park and the winning team will receive prizes and admission to the park.

First inspired by her son’s love for building with K'Nex, Washington (whose son is also in the class) loved the idea of using the materials in a learning capacity. “It’s great because they have fun, but really learn the math as well," she said.

She also had no shortage of praise for her students, whose commitment to the project went beyond that of other projects on a normal class day. “There were nights where students stayed past 7 o’clock to work on it, even meeting at one student’s house.” Washington said.

The roller coaster depicts famous New York City landmarks like the Empire State Building and the Hearst Building—which students Camilla Zavari and Amari Bowen explained was the first eco-friendly building to be completed in Manhattan—the Intrepid, and even Chelsea Piers. The class clamored to describe the parts they were responsible for and deftly explained the science behind their design.

The students will submit pictures of the project along with an accompanying song/video that, yes, they wrote, shot, and edited themselves. In the meantime, Washington has promised the seventh graders a trip to Smashbuger to celebrate, saying “they all worked really hard, I am so proud of them.”

Check out a brief video of a section of the roller coaster in action.

Download the movie