Reaching for Olympic Glory

Every two years, competitors in the Olympic Games vie to determine who the world's best athletes are. 2008 marks the 29th summer Olympiad of the modern age and more than 10,000 athletes will converge upon Beijing, China, to take part in 302 events across 38 different disciplines. The competition is fierce, and teams will compete in everything from archery to wrestling and from swimming to soccer.

Without realizing it, athletes also will compete to see who can best make use of science. Science — be it the physics of a gymnast's flips, the engineering of a rower's scull, or the biochemical makeup of a marathoner's pre-race meal — serves as a common strand tying the various competitors together. Science even comes into play with more negative aspects of the Games — the environmental struggles China has been striving to overcome with its air quality, the recent algae outbreak at the sailing venue, and the continual testing to prevent the use of illegal biochemical substances designed to boost athletes' performance.

Science NetLinks offers these Olympics- and sports-related resources with the hopes that it will allow your students to see the excitement, hard work, and dedication that takes place not only on the field and in the pool during the Games, but also in the laboratories and on computer screens beforehand.

 

 

Science NetLinks Resources

Skin and Sports

Resource Type: Lesson
Grade Band: 6-8
Description: This lesson allows students to explore the effects of physical activity on skin and to understand how to protect their skin when participating in sports.

Sprinter Advantage NEW!

Resource Type: Science Update
Grade Band: 6-12
Description: This Science Update explains how Olympic runners closest to the start gun may get a slight advantage.

Fastest Swimsuit

Resource Type: Science Update
Grade Band: 6-12
Description: This Science Update lets students hear about the latest technology in swimwear and how it may help Olympians break more records in Beijing.

Careers in Sports and Exercise Science NEW!
Resource Type: Tool
Grade Band: 6-12
Description: This tool, created by Science's Science Careers, highlights a variety of careers related to exercise and sports science.

Science at the Olympics NEW!
Resource Type: Tool
Grade Band: 9-12
Description: This tool highlights an August 2008 article from Science magazine asking questions about the science behind various aspects of the Beijing Olympics.

Reaching for Olympic Glory NEW!
Resource Type: Student Page
Grade Band: 6-12
Description: This student page offers resources relating to the Olympics and the impact science has on the Games directly to the student user.

 

Other Resources

Olympics Quest
Resource Type: Website
Grade Band: 3-8
Description: This website invites students to nominate a city to hold the next Olympics and encourages them to back up their suggestion by considering a number of factors, including geography and climate. (The link to the rubric on the page is broken; the correct link is here.)

Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
Resource Type: Website
Grade Band: 6-12
Description: The official site for the 2008 Summer Games offers general news about the games, insights into Chinese culture, and daily updates about the various competitions.

International Olympic Committee
Resource Type: Website
Grade Band: 6-12
Description: The official site for the International Olympic Committee, the governing body of the Olympic Games, shares highlights from past Olympics, includes photos and videos, and highlights online exhibits of the Olympic Museum.

Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games
Resource Type: Website
Grade Band: 6-12
Description: The official site for the 2008 Paralympic Games includes video interviews with athletes, discusses the different competitions, and highlights inroads made into improving access for all disabled athletes around the world.

NBC Olympics

Resource Type: Video
Grade Band: 6-12
Description: NBC Sports highlights the on-field and behind-the-scenes goings-on associated with the Olympic Games.

Bound for Beijing

Resource Type: Audio
Grade Band: 6-12
Description: NPR offers interviews with athletes from around the world competing for gold in Beijing.

The Science of Sport
Resource Type: Blog
Grade Band: 9-12
Description: Two scientists with Ph.D.'s from the Exercise Science and Sports Medicine Research Unit at the University of Cape Town opine about the latest in sports-related science. This is a blog, so teachers should consider reading the entries ahead of time to make sure that the material is appropriate for students.