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Build-a-Boat Challenge

Activity

How Buoyancy Helps Things Float (or Sink)

Using your Engineer brain make a boat in one of two ways: 1) use only natural materials (leaves, sticks, grass) or 2) use recycled materials from your recycling bin. How long can your boat float? How far can your boat travel in a creek or stream? What helped your boat float? Use your planning, designing, problem solving and modification skills to create a successful boat! (And don’t forget to put your recycled boat parts back into the recycling bin.)

Science Seed

Why do some things float and others don’t? The secret is buoyancy, or the ability of objects to float in water and air. Whether or not an object has buoyancy depends mostly on two factors: the amount of water an object displaces and the density of an object. An object that is less dense than water will float on water. A pebble is dense and displaces very little water, therefore it sinks. However, a basketball is not very dense and displaces more water, therefore it floats. If the weight of the water displaced is more than the weight of the object, the object will float. A boat may be very heavy and made of dense materials, but it weighs less than the water that it displaces.

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earn Badges

Badges can be earned through hands-on experiences within each of the 16 branches of science, or “Science Slices.” You can earn a badge in each branch of science by doing four activities in these categories. We also encourage participants to keep a Nature Journal to record their memories, and to express themselves creatively through writing or drawing after each activity. We recommend that each child (and parent if they’d like) write or draw in a journal after each activity, with expectations of your children that match their age (the goal is self-expression, not perfection).

Explore Anywhere PEEP

join Families in Nature

It is our vision to inspire all families to fall in love with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists. Becoming a member of Families in Nature will give your family the opportunity to have adventures in nature, experience field science, develop as youth conservation leaders, and make memories that will last a lifetime. Memberships are free for everyone.

Who are we?

Families in Nature works to create opportunities for nature connection with the purpose of sparking a deep love and desire to protect, conserve and restore the environment. Our mission is to connect children and their families to nature and to each other through time spent learning, playing, and volunteering outdoors. It is our vision to inspire ALL families to fall in love with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists.