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,...

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

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...

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, scholars explore buoyancy and the properties of air and water. They test cups to see which...

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

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

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,...

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...

Don't just sink the boat. Using a closed container as a submarine, pupils experiment to see what to add to the container to make it float, sink to the bottom, and hover in the middle. After finding one option, learners see if they can...