Adam and the team take the Shack to the Commonwealth Games Stadium in Manchester, for a record-breaking challenge. The team must design a jumping aid that will enable someone to clear the Shack – which means jumping higher than the current world high jump record. In the spirit of the real sport, the jump must be human powered and the mechanism must go over the Shack with the person – so no cannons!

Adam takes a look at the biomechanics of jumping and some ways in which we’ve enhanced our ability – from gymnastics and the Fosbury Flop, to spring-loaded boots. He gets up close with some of the best jumpers in the animal kingdom – looking at grasshoppers’ knees to see how those muscles really work.

The Grand Finale sees a member of the Science Shack team, equipped with their jumping aid, competing against a Commonwealth gymnastics champion and a spring loaded trampolinist in a Shack-Jumping competition.

How high do you think you could make an object jump? Find out how far you can reach in the Jump Challenge.

Web links

Grasshopper Jumping
Find out more about the mechanics of Grasshopper jumping.

Jumping Records
This site contains information about all of the world and Olympic jumping records.

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Content last updated: 02/09/2005