Buoyant Boats

Cut milk cartons in half to make boats and let investigators attempt to sink them. They add dividing walls and observe what happens if marbles are put into only one of the newly formed compartments. Vocabulary is provided: buoyant force,...

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...

Students discover buoyancy by creating model boats.  In this water science activity, students discover the physical properties of water and how floating is possible with large ships by building model boats from recycled materials....

Build a floating vessel capable of carrying cargo. Groups create a vessel that floats and can carry at least 10 pennies to model a mass transit system. After learning about buoyancy, density, and energy, they redesign their vessels in...

Swimmers know to float by turning their bodies horizontally rather than vertically, but why does that make a difference? In an interesting lesson plan, scholars explore buoyancy and the properties of air and water. They test cups to see...

Students design and build a floating vessel with its own propulsion system that will carry cargo across a wading pool.

Students explore buoyancy and displacement.  For this Archimedes Principle science lesson, students predict which household items will float and which will sink, then test them in water. Students watch a video about Archimedes Principle,...

Use this resource to discuss the Archimedes Principle and buoyancy in your classroom.  Learners use modeling clay to make, test, and record water data and analyze this principle. They come up with ideas to make the ball of clay float,...

Mixing substances together causes their properties to change. This resource illustrates that concept for fifth graders by having them consider four questions that have to do with buoyancy and boiling point. Learners begin to understand...

Fourth graders explore the concept of mass and buoyancy. After building boats out of several materials, they predict whether each boat floats if certain objects are added. Students test their predictions and draw conclusions from their...