Activity

Watercraft

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

Whatever floats your boat—with some additional weight. The first activity in a five-part series challenges pupils to design a boat to hold pennies. Using the design process, learners design, build, and test their boats, making sure they stay afloat with the weight of 20 pennies on board.

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Instructional Ideas
  • Research boat designs before the design phase
  • Review the engineering design process with the class before the activity
Classroom Considerations
  • Needs several large containers of water to test the boats
Pros
  • Includes suggestions for times for each segment
  • Provides information to use as a hook or extension to the activity
Cons
  • None