Students learn about displacement, density and buoyancy then apply their knowledge to build a floating object.

Students learn that buoyancy is responsible for making boats, hot air balloons and weather balloons float. They calculate whether or not a boat or balloon will float, and calculate the volume needed to make a balloon or boat of a certain...

Young scholars use modeling clay, a material that is denser than water and thus ordinarily sinks in water, to discover the principle of buoyancy. They begin by designing and building boats out of clay that will float in water, and then...

Students observe Archimedes' principle in action in this challenge where a toy boat is placed in a container of water and a rock is placed on the floating boat. Students must explain why the water level rises/falls/stays the same based...

Students explore material properties in hands-on and visually evident ways via the Archimedes' principle. First, they design and conduct an experiment to calculate densities of various materials and present their findings to the class....

This interactive brainteaser from the NOVA: "Voyage of Doom" Web site challenges you to figure out what happens to the water level when a rock is resting in a boat and when it is submerged in water.

This lesson teaches the concept of measurement using grams and ounces through a student-created experiment. The students will get to test their own scientific predictions by constructing a boat and trying to sink it. This lesson provides...

Each student uses a small quantity of modeling clay to make a boat that will float in a tub of water. The object is to build a boat that will hold as much weight as possible without sinking. In the process of designing and testing their...

The tradebook, Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen, is an excellent tool in teaching measurement. Young scholars will engage in activities involving different types of measurement. In the story, five animal friends decide to take a boat...

Hands-on challenge to build an unsinkable boat out of straws and plastic wrap that can hold twenty five pennies. Provides full list of materials with ideas on how to build, test, evaluate, and redesign it if necessary. Also, includes...

Come and learn with this incredible seashore science resource. The content includes fun facts, experiments, reproducible activities, resources and more.