Physics & Engineering Academy

15 Weeks of Forces, Motion, Machines & Hands-On Engineering

Students become physicists, designers and engineers as they investigate how forces and motion shape the world around them.

In this 15-week academy, students explore Newton’s laws of motion, forces, energy, simple machines and mechanical systems through hands-on experiments and engineering challenges. They will apply what they learn as they design, build, test and improve moving machines, structures, roller coasters and chain-reaction devices.

This is not simply a science class filled with facts and formulas. Each session combines a focused physics investigation with a practical engineering challenge that allows students to see scientific principles in action.

Workshop Details

• Ages: 9–14
• Dates: Thursdays beginning August 27, 2026
• Time: 1:00–3:00 PM
• Length: 15 weeks · 30 instructional hours
• Location: Baldwin, Florida
• Class size: Limited to only 5 students
• Tuition: $850 paid in full or five monthly payments of $200
• Step Up for Students scholarships accepted

What Students Will Explore

Throughout the semester, students will investigate:

• Newton’s three laws of motion
• Balanced and unbalanced forces
• Mass, weight, force and acceleration
• Friction, gravity and air resistance
• Potential and kinetic energy
• Momentum and collisions
• Work, energy and mechanical advantage
• Levers, wheels and axles
• Pulleys, inclined planes, wedges and screws
• Compound machines and mechanical systems
• Structural strength and stability
• Roller-coaster physics and track design
• Energy transfer and conservation
• Chain reactions and cause and effect
• The engineering design process
• Testing, failure, redesign and improvement

How Each Session Works

Each two-hour session includes:

1. Physics Investigation
   Students explore a force, motion, energy or engineering principle through demonstrations and hands-on experiments.
2. Engineering Brief
   Students receive a practical challenge with a specific goal, requirements and design constraints.
3. Design and Construction
   Students sketch ideas, select materials and build a working solution.
4. Testing and Improvement
   Students collect observations, identify problems and improve their designs through repeated testing.
5. Showcase and Reflection
   Students demonstrate their projects, explain the physics involved and evaluate how successfully their designs met the challenge.

Students Will Learn To

• Recognize forces and motion in everyday situations
• Explain and apply Newton’s three laws of motion
• Understand how mass and force affect acceleration
• Identify potential and kinetic energy within a system
• Use simple machines to reduce effort or change the direction of a force
• Combine mechanisms to create more complex machines
• Plan and build within specific requirements and limitations
• Measure, observe and use evidence to evaluate performance
• Identify why a design did not work as expected
• Improve a project through testing and iteration
• Explain the scientific principles behind a working design
• Collaborate, communicate and solve problems creatively
• Approach failure as a valuable part of the engineering process

Sample Projects

Students may be challenged to:

• Design a balloon-powered vehicle that demonstrates Newton’s third law
• Build and test crash-protection systems
• Investigate friction using ramps, surfaces and moving objects
• Create a vehicle powered by stored energy
• Build a catapult or launching mechanism
• Design a lever capable of lifting a heavy load
• Construct working pulley systems
• Combine simple machines to complete a practical task
• Build a strong structure using limited materials
• Design a marble roller coaster with hills, turns and safety constraints
• Create a chain-reaction machine that completes a simple task
• Develop a large final engineering project combining force, motion, energy and machines

More Than Building Projects

Engineering begins with understanding how and why something works.

Every project begins with a question:

What forces are acting on this design—and how can we use them to make it work better?

Students learn that successful engineering is not about getting everything right on the first attempt. It requires observation, planning, testing and a willingness to make changes. A collapsed structure, stalled vehicle or escaped marble is not simply a failure—it is evidence that helps an engineer decide what to improve next.

What’s Included

• 15 weeks of expert, hands-on instruction
• All equipment and project materials used during class
• Guided physics investigations and demonstrations
• Weekly engineering design challenges
• Planning sheets and engineering design briefs
• Access to specialized building materials and tools
• Individual guidance in a five-student learning environment
• A final roller-coaster or Rube Goldberg engineering project
• A final student showcase

Who Is This Academy For?

Physics & Engineering Academy is designed for students who:

• Love building, inventing and figuring out how things work
• Enjoy hands-on science experiments
• Are curious about forces, motion, machines or structures
• Like solving practical problems
• Learn best by designing and creating
• Want to test their ideas rather than simply read about science
• Are willing to try, fail, adjust and try again

Students do not need previous physics or engineering experience. They simply need curiosity, creativity and a willingness to experiment and improve.

Tuition

$850 paid in full for the complete 15-week academy

A monthly payment option of five payments of $200 is also available, for a total tuition of $1,000.

Enrollment is limited to four paid spaces, allowing every student to receive personal instruction, support and feedback.

Step Up for Students scholarship funds are accepted.

To use scholarship funds, select Scholarship Payment in the checkout cart. You can then process the payment through the EMA website using your student’s available scholarship funds.