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 stay afloat with the weight of 20 pennies on board.

Concepts

boats, buoyancy, displacement, design, engineering design, carrying capacity, technology resources

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Instructional Ideas

• Research boat designs before the design phase
• Review the engineering design process with the class before the activity

Classroom Considerations

• Needs several large containers of water to test the boats

Pros

• Includes suggestions for times for each segment
• Provides information to use as a hook or extension to the activity

Cons

• None