{"id":51883,"date":"2025-09-10T05:10:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T20:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phys-edu.net\/wp\/?p=51883"},"modified":"2025-09-10T05:10:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T20:10:34","slug":"uncovering-the-physics-of-mermaid-lagoon-a-disneysea-adventure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phys-edu.net\/wp\/?p=51883&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Uncovering the Physics of Mermaid Lagoon: A DisneySea Adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m Ken Kuwako, your Science Trainer. Every day is an experiment.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Have you ever been to an amusement park and noticed the scientific secrets hidden in plain sight? The acceleration of a roller coaster, the graceful arc of a fountain’s water, the countless magical illusions\u2014all of them are precisely crafted using the laws of physics.<\/p>\n

I once tried to teach science to my students by talking about something they were familiar with: Gundam. But it was a complete failure. Their eyes just glazed over. I was baffled! Then I realized they just weren’t into Gundam.<\/p>\n

So I wondered, “What do my students like?” and found out it was Disneyland and aquariums.<\/p>\n

This was a surprising discovery. I knew I had to find topics that resonated with my students to draw them into the world of science!<\/p>\n

That’s how I started going to Disneyland to find material, like the physics of Splash Mountain’s potential energy<\/a>, and visiting the Sumida Aquarium to find fun facts about the refraction of light in a penguin tank<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As I researched Disneyland, I started picking up more interesting tidbits from guidebooks and Walt Disney’s biography, like the use of forced perspective to make buildings look bigger than they are. That’s why I started going to Disneyland regularly, looking for new teaching material.<\/p>\n

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To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of Disneyland. But for a certain reason, I started making an effort to visit whenever I had a chance, maybe about once a year. It’s not because I love the rides, or I want to meet the characters, or I’m just into the happy atmosphere.<\/p>\n

That’s when I realized the need to talk about Disneyland for my physics lessons. I was talking about the rotation of a space colony and centrifugal force, when the classroom fell silent. Their eyes looked dead. “Why?!” I wondered, and realized they just weren’t into Gundam.<\/p>\n

So I wondered, “What do my students like?” and found out it was Disneyland and aquariums.<\/p>\n

I was surprised. I had to find topics that resonated with my students to draw them into the world of science!<\/p>\n

That’s how I started going to Disneyland to find material, like the physics of Splash Mountain’s potential energy<\/a>, and visiting the Sumida Aquarium to find fun facts about the refraction of light in a penguin tank<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As I researched Disneyland, I started picking up more interesting tidbits from guidebooks and Walt Disney’s biography, like the use of forced perspective to make buildings look bigger than they are. That’s why I started going to Disneyland regularly, looking for new teaching material.<\/p>\n

[amazonjs asin=”4478001812″ locale=”JP” title=”\u5275\u9020\u306e\u72c2\u6c17 \u30a6\u30a9\u30eb\u30c8\u30fb\u30c7\u30a3\u30ba\u30cb\u30fc”]<\/p>\n

I recently went to DisneySea during a break. There, I was particularly intrigued by the water spouting from a fish at Mermaid Lagoon (where Ariel lives). This is what it looked like.<\/p>\n

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I compared it to a parabola.<\/p>\n

It’s a beautiful parabola. Water is launched with an initial velocity, and in the absence of wind, it creates such a perfect arc. You can watch the video here.<\/p>\n

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