Theme Park and Ride Design

What child doesn’t enjoy an amusement park? How many people have fantasized about creating rides and theme parks? There are many skills and abilities that go into the actual jobs required for this field, including physics, creativity, project management, art, architecture, and film. Here are some ideas for developing these interests.

Annenberg Learner has developed an interactive resource titled Amusement Park Physics. This website helps students learn the forces behind the fun. Young people find out what principals of physics make the following rides work, how the dynamics of physics control the safety of the rides, and considerations that need to be factored in by ride designers.

• Roller Coasters
• Carousel
• Bumper Cars
• Free Fall Rides
• Pendulum Rides 

Teach Engineering: Resources for K-12 has created Amusement Park Ride: Ups and Downs in Design, a lesson plan for middle school students to build and test model roller coasters using foam tubing.

If your student is interested in investigating a career in theme park and ride design, he can check out Help! I want to be a Theme Park Designer. What Do I Do Now? 13 Guidelines for Your Success.

Walt Disney Imagineering is the master planning, creative development, design, engineering, production, project management, and research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company and its affiliates. Representing more than 150 disciplines, its corps of Imagineers is responsible for the creation of Disney resorts, theme parks and attractions, hotels, water parks, real estate developments, regional entertainment venues, cruise ships, and new media technology projects. Be sure and check out the Students/Recent Grads section for information on paid internships.