RoLLeR CoAsTeRs!
When it comes to roller coasters, you either love ‘em or you hate ‘em! Here’s a closer look at these truly incredible machines.
What is the fastest roller coaster in the world?
At http://www.rcdb.com/ig2832.htm?picture=42 you will find some pictures of the world’s fastest roller coaster, in New Jersey (our home state!). Called Kingda Ka, this coaster goes 128 mph, 45 stories high and does it all in just 15 seconds (give or take a few) — including spiraling through two 90 degree angles (one up and one down)! WOW! This site is also a great resource for more roller coaster statistics. Take a virtual ride (below), if you dare.
Who invented the first roller coasters?
At http://search.eb.com/coasters/1780.html (Britannica.com) you learn that the Russians built man-made ice-covered hills out of cut lumber and tree trunks, dating back to the mid-1600s, that children and adults would slide down on straw mats. However, it is the French who can take credit for creating the world’s first roller coasters. The Les Montagues Russes a Belleville and the Promenades Aeriennes (pictured at right) – both built in 1817 – were the first such rides that had the cars attached to the track in some manner.
How old is the world’s oldest operating roller coaster?
106 years old! At http://www.ridezone.com/rides/coasters/ltd99/index.htm, you learn that Leap The Dips, North America’s last surviving side-friction wooden coaster, was built in 1902 and is still operating at Lakemont Park in Altoona, PA.
Could you design a roller coaster?
There’s a lot of math involved with creating a roller coaster; but don’t worry, this is fun math! Thanks to sites like http://www.funderstanding.com/k12/coaster/, http://kids.discovery.com/games/rollercoasters/buildacoaster.html, and http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfadd/1150/05UCMGrav/Vert.html, you can make your own roller coaster by dragging and dropping track parts into place, while learning the basic physics and energy forces that allow roller coasters to do the things they do. Will your coaster make it to the end?
Who made the first steel roller coaster?
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matterhorn_Bobsleds. Every time you go to an amusement park and ride a steel coaster with a loop or corkscrew track, you can thank Walt Disney and his team of engineers for designing and building the world’s first steel tubular roller coaster, introduced in 1959 at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.
What do the Thunderbolt, the Beast and the Texas Giant have in common?
All are famous roller coasters from around the country, and each is described at
http://kids.discovery.com/games/rollercoasters/coastervideos/coastervideos.html. If you’re hungry for more photos of cool coasters, check out http://www.coastergallery.com/. Photographer and roller coaster enthusiast Joel Rogers created this site and has posted his amazing photos of just about every roller coaster — searchable by amusement park name — including the one at the top of our page: Great American Scream Machine, located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ.
