Clay itself sinks, but clay boats float. Why? Young engineers build clay boats to learn about buoyancy. They test the weight the boats can hold using washers and then tweak their designs to make improvements, following the engineering...

Use whatever material floats your boat. Working in groups, scholars decide on a type of metal and a type of coating to use for building a boat. They test their creations by leaving their boats in a pool of water for several days before...

Keep one's dream of becoming an engineer afloat. Learners apply the engineering design process to build a boat out of aluminum foil. They start with a square boat, then consider whether boats of different shapes would be able to hold...

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...

Potentially get all the way across the water. The fourth of five design challenges asks pupils to develop a plan for a paddle-powered boat that will store its energy. Given a limited number of supplies, the class members design, build,...

Save the soup! Scholars devise a flotation device using straws, balloons, foam, corks, and other objects. A can of soup must stay afloat for at least a minute with this device—your dinner might depend on it!

Which pulley system will give us a whale of a good time? Teams compare the theoretical and actual mechanical advantages of different pulley systems. They then form a recommendation for how to move a whale from an aquarium back to the ocean.

Use this site to plan, document, and build a self-propelling boat that can travel a set distance. Students will use common materials to build this boat.

This website challenges students to build a boat that holds as many as pennies as possible. Site also includes a lesson plan, tips, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.

Powered by the wind watch your boat move through the water. This challenge has students making a boat using simple household materials. The website also includes tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their engineering...

This challenge has students using a zip line to guide a boat to move through the water for long distances. To help the students build a fast and steady boat this site contains a lesson plan as well as tips. Students can also document...