Project Demo Title​: Toys to experience ‘self-balancing force’ and ‘muscle-memory’

Theme1: ​Development of sensorial skills in children

Theme2: ​Products for children with focus on ‘Play + Learn’
Presenter​: Deepak Malani, Play Angles, ​malani.deepak7@gmail.com​, 9967697307

Abstract: ​Most children who are privileged, play with an umpteen number of toys during early
childhood. One popular type among toys are the ones with wheels, where a child experiences
moving objects through model cars, buses, etc. These are usually powered by coiling a spring,
or driven by battery-powered motor. As the child grows up, she experiences powered motion
through sitting on or in an automobile as well as through practical learning to control and ride a
tricycle or bicycle and eventually a motorised two-wheeler. Most cycle riders would have
experienced riding with hands-off the handle, when cycling at a high speed. There is a
self-balancing force that keeps a bicycle or any two-wheeler steady at high speeds, with almost
little effort from the rider. In contrast, at slower speeds, it is extremely difficult to ride with
hands-off the handle.The underlying physics of the above phenomenon usually goes unnoticed
by children or is taken for granted by most cycle riders or observers while they undergo
schooling at secondary level or even at high-school level. The theoretical explanations on
self-balancing are less convincing than sensory experience. In this project demo, the
participants experience the self-balancing force through two different sensory experiences
through toys- one by their hand using a fidget spinner, and second by viewing several
counter-intuitive maneuvers by a mechanical gyroscope (See Figure 1).

Figure 1 : Fidget spinner (left) and Mechanical gyroscope (right)

Explanation: ​A fidget spinner, mistagged for being a stress buster, and notoriously popular as a
fidgeting toy, is rather a very craftily designed toy. It has smooth ball bearings and a small
shape that fits in between the fingers. Rotating it at high speed creates large angular
momentum in the toy. When it is spinning in fast motion, a twist to the spinner from the wrist,
gives the participant a strong resisting force opposing the direction of the twist. This is indeed
the same self-balancing force acting on a moving bicycle.

The mechanical gyroscope toy, when moved at high speeds, balances its heavy frame even at
a slanted angle on a flat surface. This happens even though its center of gravity remains
unsupported mechanically. When the gyro wheel is not moving, the frame rests on the ground
or topples if tried to be held on its shaft end. However, when its wheel is set in motion, the
angular momentum gives a long sustaining dynamic stability to the toy. This is possible due to
the self-balancing force arising from the conservation of angular momentum, which in itself is
causal to the principle of the conservation of energy.

The presenter has demonstrated these toys at different settings - summer camps for school
going children (about 200 students), public parks, maker spaces - engaging participants in a
wide age group ranging from 8 to 65 years (total 300 participants). The participants have
responded with thrill as well as a sense of grasping of the real-world phenomenon through
sensory experiences enabled by these toys. It is observed that the playful nature of the above
activities, engages the learner for a sustained time enabling improved learning of the
phenomenon.

Further, the presenter uses hula-hoop rings to uncover the physiology of muscle-memory in
hands among the learners. Through a series of easy to perform maneuvers using small and
medium sized hula-hoops, participants discover the notion of dominant limbs. The presenter has
made empirical observations in training the participants in sensing and de-coupling the forced
symmetrical behavior of limbs when set in motion while simultaneously hula-hooping with both
hands.

Above are the three out of fifty different playful activities used by the presenter to help
participants in his playful camps to learn-by-doing.

Footnote: Link to a demo video of the mechanical gyroscope toy (in the presenter's voice, in Hindi)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nu8b_xgQHQ

The presenter acknowledges support received from Vijay Rangwani (former school teacher, New Era High School, Ulhasnagar,
Maharashtra) and Alka Hingorani (IIT Bombay) towards enabling tools and space for undertaking the nature of above playful
activities.