The Jump Roller is based on numerous principles of basic Newtonian mechanics, such as momentum, force, conservation of energy, and rotational momentum. I recognize that it is doubtful that children playing with the Jump Roller will gain any understanding of these concepts, but they will gain a basic, intuitive understanding of the way that the world works. The Jump Roller is essentially two wheels attached by an axle resting on a pair of half-pipes. If the wheel-and-axle is pushed up to the lip of one side of the half-pipe and released, it will roll back and forth for a good amount of time as kinectic energy and translational and rotational momentum are converted to potential energy and back. The wheels and the axle will be designed to have weight concentrated on the outside to increase rotational momentum, and thus, increase how long it swings back and forth.
|
|
|
Side |
Front |
Top |
There are various ways in which the jump roller can be used. For one, a child could push it up, release it, and then begin jump-roping it. A child or a group of children could set it up, release it, and then back away and run at it, attempting potentially to jump over it at maximum height, or to quickly roll under it. Children could play a minirature version of a net-based game (tennis, ping pong, volleyball, badmiton) with the added factor of having the bar serve as a moving net. There are, or course, other modes of play which any inventive group of children could come up with.
Production of the jump roller should be fairly simple. There's a fairly standard wheel-and-axle assembly, with the axle held in place by spokes, The two half-pipes would be made of plastic or wood. Safety-wise, there are certain concerns. A child might trip on the pole and hit the ground. To reduce the chance of injury, a pad to spread under the toy will be included with the jump-roller, and it is suggested that it always be used over dirt, preferably with grass, never over a solid surface. As far as price goes, the jump-roller is fairly large, and thus would be more expensive than my other two concept toys. Still, I expect it could be sold for as cheap as $60.
Other toys: Whirlygig, Spring Ball.