Sixth graders develop an understanding of floating, sinking, density, and buoyancy and apply it to the design of testing of ships.

Students investigate shipwrecks. For this marine archaeology lesson, students create the site of a shipwreck by using a tub filled with sand and items from a "ship". Students excavate the site and analyze the findings.

Here is a tasty challenge, especially for middle school engineers: design a container that meets mass and volume criteria, and will safely transport a tortilla or potato chip through the mail without damaging it! Mostly, this is a crisp...

Junior archaeologists will be able to describe shipwreck artifacts and the information they reveal. They work in small groups to reasearch wreckage features of different period ships, making this not only a science lesson, but a social...

Introduce your class to storage tank failures caused by major storms with an activity that looks at how the concepts of Archimedes' Principle and Pascal's Law affect the storage tanks along the Houston Ship Channel. The background...

This open-ended boat building exercise is meant to be part of a three-lesson plan series on ships. Links to the other two lessons are included. This particular part is mostly a group lab activity in which they build a boat, find its load...

Students explore package engineering and investigate design.  In this shipping lesson students are given a flower and are to come up with a packaging that will allow the flower to get to its destination as fresh as possible. 

For this shipping on the Hudson River worksheet, students record information about types of vessels seen on the Hudson River and respond to the questions that follow about each. Then they identify the Alice Oldendorff which carries road...

Students extend their understanding of floating, sinking, density, and buoyancy and apply it to the design and testing of ships. students discover that most ships are constructed very similarly-whether they are schooners or destroyers.

Turn your pupils into engineers who are able to use scientific principals to design a ship. This long-term project expects pupils to understand concepts of density, buoyancy, displacement, and metacenter, and apply them to constructing a...

Everything that happens is an interaction, from the wind blowing a sail to a cannon ball being thrust out of a cannon. A simulation shows the interactions involving a sail, air, ball, pirate, cannon, deck, ocean, and the Earth and...

Students discover boats by researching 18th century ships.  In this Naval history lesson, students identify and describe the different components of an 18th century naval ship after researching information on the Internet....

Learners describe the evolution of the warfare of ships throughout history. They work cooperatively to acquire information on power, maneuverability, weapons and crew responsibilities. Students brainstorm the ways each of the ships...

Seventh graders role play the roles of naval engineer apprentices. In groups, they work together to design a ship which cannot be damaged by freezing ice. They use the internet to research the weather and ocean conditions of the water...

What caused the collapse of the environment on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)? Who constructed the Moai? What was their purpose? Class members assume the role of investigators and use evidence drawn from field studies, ships' logs, and...

Are planes the best shipping method? Using maps, pupils determine the fastest mode of transportation between two cities. Given a list of items to ship, groups decide the best shipping method to finish the 18th segment of a 22-part unit.

Students examine the different types of vessels used in commercial shipping.  For this commercial shipping lesson students apply force and motion to problems of marine safety. 

Students travel to a ship building plant to see how they are built. They enter into discussion and writing about the task of the building. This lesson is multiple intelligence in design and valuable because of the real life exposure.

In this space science worksheet, 1st graders color the picture of the spaceship while creating their own designs. They could cut out the ship as an extension activity.

Rivers aren't just a place for animals to live, they also provide industrial transportation. The class will examine the Hudson River on a map, discuss all the commercial vessels that use the River to transport materials, then complete a...

When we think of ocean exploration, many of us have visions of sunken pirate ships full of treasure or mysterious creatures of the deep. What really motivates deep-sea investigation? The first in a series of diverse six-part lessons...

Students explore the age of sailing in the colonies through role-playing. In groups, they play the role of a business owner, shipbuilder and geographer to complete specific tasks. They participate in an old World trade show to...

Students discover what is needed to program an underwater robot to complete a course of action.  In this robot archaeologist activity students design an archaeological strategy of an underwater vehicle.