Boats Afloat
See how much your boat can carry!
Make a simple boat by changing the shape of a material and see how much your boat can carry.
- Audience
- Caregiver
- Subject
- STEAM
- Age
- ElementaryKindergartenPre-KPreschool
- Languages
- Brazilian PortugueseEnglishHaitian CreoleSimplified ChineseSpanishVietnamese
- Materials
- Tub for water, Aluminum foil, Assorted small objects (pennies, buttons, washers, marbles, or small toys), Towels or paper towels
Tinkering is about exploring and problem solving using materials and tools. Tinkering often starts with simple questions, like “What can I do with this?” or “How does this work?”
The Boats Afloat activity is especially good for children to use materials creatively and explore different ways of solving a problem.
Getting ready
You can do this activity outside or inside (or even during bathtime). If you’re exploring inside, you might want to cover your work area to protect it from spills. To start, gather your materials and fIll a large bowl or tub with about 6 inches of water.
Things to try
- Invite your child to explore which of the small objects (pennies, buttons, marbles, and more) sink or float or do something in between. Work together to make three piles—one for “sink,” one for “float,” and one for “not sure.”
- Encourage your child to see whether a piece
of aluminum foil sinks or floats. If it floats, how many small objects can it hold before it sinks?Count together! - Challenge your child to try making an even better boat—and make one of your own! Think together about how you might change the shape of your foil. What might help keep water from coming in?Test the boats in the water, and make small changes to help them float better.
- Once you have boats that float, see how many small objects each one can hold before it sinks. Then make a change to the design of the boat and try again!
Things to say
“What do you think will happen if we…?”
“Messes happen. Let's clean it up.”
“It’s okay that your foil ripped. You can try again.”
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