Flying Zippies

The Flying Zippies is a whimsical online story designed to teach about particles changing states when the ambient air is heated. The particles are represented as a set of circus performers called the Zippies. The acrobats are initially clustered together in the cold air of their dressing room, then move to the Big Tent where the warmer air changes them to a liquid. The crowd demands that the Zippies fly, so the circus master lights torches to speed the air particles, causing the Zippies to fly like a gas. Join Reggie the Ringmaster, Matilda, and Seymour Sweeper as they work to make the Flying Zippies circus act a high-flying success and learn about states of matter in the process.

The interactive story contains segments when users are asked to predict what will happen in the story. The animation also contains actions that do not help the Zippies fly, such as adding more Zippies at the same temperature or rocking the cart containing the listless solid Zippies. Scientifically accurate computational models of particles are embedded in the story to help users understand more about states of matter.

At the end of the story, users consider how to bring the Zippies down from their flight (condensation), which is accomplished by extinguishing the torches and then rolling the Zippies back into the cold dressing room to become a closely packed solid again. Throughout the story, the air speed acts as the agent that causes these changes of state. Users learn both the spatial and kinetic nature of different states of matter as well as the mechanism that causes these transformations in both directions.

The Flying Zippies was created in partnership with the award-winning FableVision multimedia production studio.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant DRL- 1621299. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Instructions

Use the left and right arrows to move through the story. Wait till the arrows turn green before clicking them.

Click the blinking speaker icon to start each scene and hear the narration. Note that there are pauses built in when the narrator asks a question. You can continue after these pauses when the speaker icon starts blinking again, or the arrow on the right becomes green.