Archimedes's Law at Gymnasium (2010)

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The live-action role-playing game is presented in Journal of Science and Arts, Year 10, No. 1(12), pp. 175-182, 2010, in Role-Playing as a Creative Method in Science Education. The article describes several methods of implementing aspects of role-playing in science education. One method enumerated involves an actual live-action role-playing game where the instructor and students all assume the roles of participants in a Greek gymnasium where the relative merits of the "new" Archimedes's Law (buoyancy and displacement) are presented, discussed, discredited, supported, and otherwise examined in a manner consistent with the general practices of gymnasium. It is assumed the LARP will last for about 45 minutes. A discussion of outcomes of actual LARP sessions is included.