Highlights:
- To build on our knowledge of boat building, we were tasked with the challenge of creating a boat that could carry cargo (pennies) on top. We were given a water bottle, 2 popsicle sticks and 4 elastic bands. We decided to imagine that the cargo was robots, so they could not touch the water otherwise they would be destroyed - but the cargo could not be placed inside the bottle or tied on by the elastic bands.
- First, we brainstormed and created a design on paper.
- Then we took the tools and tried to make the boat.
- "This one floated but would only carry 1 penny before tipping over"
- After some trial and error many of the groups were successful at making the boat float without tipping.
- Then, we added pennies to see if it could carry cargo. Many groups were successful at carrying at least 1 penny without it tipping over! The key was making sure the boat and cargo was balanced.
- "This one was able to float but tipped over after 2 pennies"
- "This did not float at first because we loaded it with cargo before putting it in the water. Then, we tried putting the boat in without pennies, and added the cargo one by one. We were able to carry four pennies before it tipped over."
- "This one did not work because after adding pennies to each side of the popsicle sticks, there was too much weight at the base of the bottle (back of the boat) so it tipped over"
- "The VERY first time, it floated with 1 penny, but then after adding more pennies it was too much weight and sank. Then the wood absorbed all the water and it would not work a second time."
- "This one floated with 11 pennies in total. We think this is because the weight of the pennies was even on boat times. It really helped to have a stick to the bottom because the weight is more balanced and spread out"
Reminders:
