Given the fact that we have been studying explorers, such as Christopher Columbus, and will soon be covering the early settlers of America, to include the Pilgrims, it seemed appropriate to do a little something with boats. I looked through the archives of a really cool blog at kidswhothink.blogspot.com and found this engineering activity. I gave the boys 2 straws and a sheet of aluminum foil measuring 12"x18" and asked them to build a boat. The boys placed their boats in a sink filled with water, placed pennies in the boat and counted how many pennies the boat could hold before sinking. Maceo's first boat didn't utilize any straws and it held 31 pennies.
He then gave it a second shot. This time he utilized his straws and met with more success. This boat held 67 pennies.
Bishop's first boat, of which there is no picture, only held 5 pennies. The basic idea was great but the surface area was extremely limited. He then expanded upon that idea and created a larger boat. This boat held 200 pennies.
Inspired by his own success he created yet another boat. This one held 266 pennies. WOW!
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