
Wii Sports and Real Athletic Skill
Hard
Can practicing a sport on a video game make you better at the real thing? The Nintendo Wii uses motion controls that mimic the swings and throws of actual sports. That raises a question worth testing.
You gather 10 participants with no experience in golf, tennis, or bowling. First you measure their baseline skill: putting a golf ball, returning a tennis serve, and knocking down bowling pins. Then for 12 days they play the Wii Sports versions of those three games for two hours each day.
After the training period you test them again on the real sports. You compare the before and after scores to see whether virtual practice transfers to real-world performance.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that playing Wii Sports will help inexperienced participants improve their performance at the actual game.
Method & Materials
You will select 10 participants, 5 boys and 5 girls age 12 with no previous experience in playing golf, tennis or bowling. You will bring them to a golf driving range, a tennis court, and a bowling alley to observe their performance. Then, you will have them play Wii Sports for 2 hours a day for 12 days. Finally, you will observe their performance again.
You will need 5 boys and 5 girls age 12, access to a golf driving range, golf clubs of the correct size, access to a bowling alley and a bowling ball, a tennis court, 2 tennis rackets, tennis balls and a tennis instructor, 2 Wii video game consoles, and two copies of the Wii Sports software.
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See what’s includedResults
After the 12 days of training on the Wii sports video games, the participants’ performance in all 3 sports improved. The results show that playing Wii Sports can help inexperienced participants improve their performance at the actual game.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it explores the potential of video games to contribute to training and learning. It also shows how motion-detecting sports video games can help players to interact and have hands-on participation in a simulated sports game.
Also Consider
Variations of this science project could include exploring other sports such as race car driving, basketball, or boxing. Another variation could be to explore if video games help make a person smarter or think faster, or if they help improve reaction time.
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.Related videos
These videos explain the science behind this project and demonstrate key concepts used in the experiment.
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