Remember when you wanted to be a firefighter as a kid? Between the flashing lights, giant trucks, tall ladders, and heroic rescues (including cats high up in a tree), it’s easy to see why. In club today, kids discovered that behind every brave firefighter is a whole lot of math!
Kids put themselves through firefighter training by racing while carrying “gear,” estimating how much water it takes to put out a fire, measuring spaces to calculate area, and they learned a cool Party Fun Fact: Firefighters use color-coded hydrants to know how quickly they can pump water!
You don’t need a fire truck to discover the math firefighters use every day. Try these activities at home together:
- Go on a hydrant hunt. How many fire hydrants can you spot around your neighborhood? Are they all the same color? What do you notice about where they’re located?
- Think big about water. A typical bathtub holds about 30 gallons of water – and 30 bathtubs filled with water weighs about the same as an adult elephant! How much water do you think it would take to put out a fire? What about the amount of water in a swimming pool?
- Put your faucets to the test. Fill a gallon container from your bathroom faucet, then try your kitchen faucet. Which one fills it faster? How much faster? What might happen if firefighters had a hydrant with more or less water pressure?
- Measure like a firefighter. Find a room, driveway, or other space around your house. Can you estimate its area before measuring it? How could knowing the size of a space help a firefighter?
Now that you’re through firefighter training, head over to Bedtime Math to learn the secret formula of fire hydrants in The Secret Formula for Fighting Fires.