Math Concept Reader
Designing a Designing a SKATE PARK Math Concept Reader Expedition: Antarctica by Aenea Mickelsen ca62xs_lay_061207ad_am.indd 4 1/9/07 9:09:15 AM DIGITAL FINAL PROOF by Amy Ayers Designing a SKATE PARK Math Concept Reader Copyright © Gareth Stevens, Inc. All rights reserved. Developed for Harcourt, Inc., by Gareth Stevens, Inc. This edition published by Harcourt, Inc., by agreement with Gareth Stevens, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Permissions Department, Gareth Stevens, Inc., 330 West Olive Street, Suite 100, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212. Fax: 414-332-3567. HARCOURT and the Harcourt Logo are trademarks of Harcourt, Inc., registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions. Printed in the United States of America ISBN 13: 978-0-15-360201-6 ISBN 10: 0-15-360201-5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 179 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 ca57xs_lay_070109af_kb.indd 1 1/9/07 9:58:12 PM DIGITAL FINAL PROOF Chapter 1: The Skatepark Committee Where would you nd halfpipes, rails, curbs, and funboxes, right next to picnic benches and a ight of stairs? If you said in a skateboard park, you’re right! Skateparks are found in cities and towns all over the world. They range in size from small to large. Larger skateparks serve city-wide communities. Smaller skateparks sometimes serve just a few neighborhoods. No matter the size, a skatepark takes careful planning to design and build. It’s no small feat to get a skatepark built. The planning process is long. It requires hard work and dedication from many people. A skatepark committee often begins the planning process. This committee is usually made up of people who support skateboarding. Typical committee members include skateboarders and fans of skateboarding. People of all ages come together to help plan skateparks. Committee members may be young skateboarders, teenagers, parents, and other adults. Although the committee members often vary widely in age, they all have the same goal: to provide a safe place in the community for skateboarders to skate. With this goal in mind, they work hard to plan and build the skateboard park. ca57xs_lay_070109af_kb.indd 2 1/9/07 9:58:12 PM DIGITAL FINAL PROOF Construction on this skatepark is just beginning. In the beginning of the development phase, the skatepark committee holds meetings to develop a plan for the skatepark. They have many tasks. They must plan a campaign to raise money to build the park. Skateparks cost anywhere from $3,000 to $100,000 to build. With the average skatepark costing around $25,000, raising enough money is no small task for the skatepark committee. They must develop a successful fundraising campaign in order to secure enough donors, or people who will give money to build the park. The committee members must also decide how they will gain community support. As they plan the skatepark, committee members learn as much as they can about building skateparks. The information they gather will help them inform the community about the park. It will also help members answer questions about the park. How do committee members learn about skateparks? There are many resources. They can read books. They can do research on the Internet. They may visit skateparks in other communities. They may even interview professional skatepark builders. Without solid information, it is hard to build support for the park. ca57xs_lay_070109af_kb.indd 3 1/9/07 9:58:13 PM DIGITAL FINAL PROOF People sign a petition to support building a skatepark. The skatepark committee may need to circulate a petition to gain community support. A petition is a written request that community members may sign. In this case, the petition would be a request to build a skatepark. Each signature represents one person who supports building the skatepark. Without a petition, many community members might not even know a community skatepark is being considered. The petition is also important because it provides solid, visible proof of the amount of community support for the skatepark. In order to gather signatures on the petition, the committee members may go door to door to people’s homes. They may also ask local businesses, such as skate shops and sport stores, if they may leave a copy of the petition at their store for people to sign. Another way to gather signatures is to ask local businesses for permission to stand outside their place of business. Committee members ask customers to sign the petition as they go into and leave the store. All of these are effective ways to gather signatures on a petition. ca57xs_lay_070109af_kb.indd 4 1/9/07 9:58:14 PM DIGITAL FINAL PROOF Members of the skatepark committee work on building plans. After they collect as many petition signatures as they can, committee members make a presentation to the city council. They present the reasons why the community needs a skatepark. This presentation must be done in an informed, professional manner. The committee must demonstrate that sufcient thought and planning have gone into their proposed skatepark. One way to do this is to show the city council the signed copies of the petition to demonstrate support for the park. The committee also brings any other important papers. These include their ideas for the skatepark and a list of donors. The committee might make suggestions for where the park could be located. Although this location may not be approved by the city council, it is another sign that the committee has put much thought into planning the skatepark. The committee must prove there is strong community support for the skatepark in order to get the city council to approve its plans. If there is no proof the community wants a skatepark, there is no reason for the city council to approve it. The skatepark committee does a lot of planning. The planning, however, is just the rst part of the process. ca57xs_lay_070109af_kb.indd 5 1/9/07 9:58:16 PM DIGITAL FINAL PROOF Chapter 2: Designing the Skatepark Once their presentation is complete, the skatepark committee asks the city council for approval of their plans. The city council votes to approve the park and must approve the location of the park as well. Then the fun begins! It is time for the skatepark committee to design the skatepark. Designing the skatepark has several very important steps. The rst design step is to gure out the size of the location chosen for the skatepark. The committee determines how much surface, or area, is available at the location. Suppose the city council donates an empty lot for the skatepark. Designers must know the area of the lot in order to gure out what elements, or parts, of a skatepark can t on the surface. This will ensure a nice t for all the elements. If elements within a skatepark are too close together, skateboarders can get hurt more easily by skating into each other. If elements within a skatepark are too far apart, the skate course can become boring. ca57xs_lay_070109af_kb.indd 6 1/9/07 9:58:16 PM DIGITAL FINAL PROOF This rectangular-shaped lot will one day be the home of a skatepark. 175 feet 125 feet 175 × 125 = 21,875 A = 21,875 P = 600 If the lot is square or rectangular, its area is found by multiplying its length by its width. The formula for area is A = l × w. Suppose the lot is 175 feet long and 125 feet wide. A = l × w A = 175 × 125 A = 21,875 Area is measured in square units, such as square feet. The area of this lot is 21,875 square feet. This is larger than the average skatepark, which has an area of about 10,000 square feet. It is also important to nd the perimeter, or distance, around the lot. Start by multiplying its length by two, and then multiply its width by two. Last, add these two products together. The formula for perimeter is P = (2 × l) + (2 × w). P = (2 × l) + (2 × w) P = (2 × 175) + (2 × 125) P = 600 This lot has a perimeter of 600 feet. You must know the perimeter in order to build anything around the park, such as a fence. ca57xs_lay_070109af_kb.indd 7 1/9/07 9:58:17 PM DIGITAL FINAL PROOF Street Course Area = 10,000 square feet Beginner Area Area = 6,250 square feet 125 feet 50 feet 80 feet 125 feet The next step in the design process is for the skatepark committee to plan the layout of the park. A very popular skatepark design has three sections: one for beginners, one for intermediate and advanced skaters, and a street course. It’s important for beginners to have their own area so that they do not have to worry about being injured by intermediate or advanced skaters who might skate faster than them. To nd the area of each section, the committee must know the length and width of each section. Suppose the committee designs the beginner area to be 125 feet long and 50 feet wide. A = l × w A = 125 × 50 A = 6,250 The beginner section area is 6,250 square feet. This is a good size as it is generally recommended that beginner areas be between 5,000 and 8,000 square feet. Suppose the street course is 125 feet long and 80 feet wide. A = l × w A = 125 × 80 A = 10,000 The street course area is 10,000 square feet. This is a fairly small street course as street courses usually range in size from 10,000 to 20,000 square feet. ca57xs_lay_070109af_kb.indd 8 1/9/07 9:58:17 PM DIGITAL FINAL PROOF [...]... company that includes skateboarders on its work crews Working with actual skateboarders makes certain that the construction company builds a skatepark that skateboarders will like Having skateboarders on the work crews also helps make sure any design problems that pop up during construction are easily solved Skatepark construction companies tend to build the best skateparks around 13 ca57xs_lay_070109af_kb.indd... hard work The skatepark committee manages many details and has many obstacles to overcome The final result is worth the effort, though The finished skatepark provides a safe, fun place for skateboarders to skate Planning a skatepark also provides a way for community members to work together to make their community a better place If you would like a skatepark in your neighborhood, start by forming a. .. skaters are not skilled skaters and, by skating slowly, can stay safe on the skate course This section might have elements such as small hips, moguls, banks, curbs, and rails no higher than four feet tall The skatepark s intermediate and advanced section can include faster sloping elements that allow skaters to gain higher speeds Intermediate and advanced skaters are more skilled than beginners because... remember that knowledge, dedication, and planning are important if you want to reach your goal Designing a skatepark will result in years of fun, recreation, and enjoyment Now, it’s time to skate! 15 ca57xs_lay_070109af_kb.indd 15 1/9/07 9:58:24 PM DIGITAL FINAL PROOF Glossary area the number of square units needed to cover a surface banks any sloped areas under 90 degrees campaign a series of activities... skatepark Often, skatepark committees give their final park designs to a professional skatepark construction company The company is responsible for actually building the skatepark Although skatepark construction companies may be more expensive than regular construction companies, they will often have the skate experience to know which design ideas will work best Skatepark designers often look for a. .. PM Think and Respond 1 Suppose you are part of a skatepark committee and are helping to design a new skatepark for your neighborhood The location donated by the city measures 110 feet long by 160 feet wide What is the area of the location? 2 Your skatepark design committee decides to put reflective tape around the base of a pentagonal pyramid located in the advanced section of the park At the base, two...DIGITAL FINAL PROOF 45 feet Intermediate/ Advanced 125 feet Area = 5,625 square feet The skateboard park will use 6,250 square feet for the beginner area and 10,000 square feet for the street course This leaves an area of 5,625 square feet for the intermediate and advanced section of the skatepark You can find this number by first adding the areas of the beginner area and the street course... skatepark street elements have been designed with the skateboarder’s safety in mind In addition, skating on these types of elements on real city streets can injure pedestrians as well as damage the reputation of skateboarders 10 ca57xs_lay_070109af_kb.indd 10 1/9/07 9:58:19 PM DIGITAL FINAL PROOF This skateboarder does a trick in a halfpipe When designing a skatepark, designers must make sure that planned... part of planning and building the park It is especially important to thank anyone who donated money to help build the park It is a chance for all of these people to see the completion of a large project that was once only an idea The grand opening celebration also is an opportunity for local skaters to showcase their talents The skateboarders can demonstrate to the community that the skateboard park... tape to go around the base 12 ca57xs_lay_070109af_kb.indd 12 1/9/07 9:58:21 PM DIGITAL FINAL PROOF Chapter 3: The Final Product After much planning and calculating, the skatepark designer completes the plans for the park The skatepark committee reviews the designs to make certain that the park will meet the needs of the skateboarders in the community They also make sure the park design is safe Finally, . Designing a Designing a SKATE PARK Math Concept Reader Expedition: Antarctica by Aenea Mickelsen ca62xs_lay_061207ad_am.indd 4 1/9/07 9:09:15 AM DIGITAL FINAL PROOF by Amy Ayers Designing. develop a plan for the skatepark. They have many tasks. They must plan a campaign to raise money to build the park. Skateparks cost anywhere from $3,000 to $100,000 to build. With the average skatepark. Smaller skateparks sometimes serve just a few neighborhoods. No matter the size, a skatepark takes careful planning to design and build. It’s no small feat to get a skatepark built. The planning