Float Your Boat

Our 4th and 5th grade students in Mrs. Musselman's GSTE classes had a competition to see who could create a boat that would hold weight, with pennies, and not sink. Students created their own boats using aluminum foil, straws, toothpicks, and tape. There were many strategies used to design a winning boat. As pennies were dropped into the boats, all the students watched to see whose boat held the most pennies. Afterward, we discussed the strategies used and why some boats sank quickly while other boats did not.