Float your Boat
Material Engineering
Float your boat explores material engineering in activities designed to develop understanding of materials, attachment and prototyping. Pupils will develop the key maker skills of joining materials and rapid prototyping. They will gain more understanding of the properties of materials including buoyancy and absorbency. During tinker time, pupils will experience using a design brief to make and test prototypes.
EXPLORATION
Pupils explore floating and sinking through carrying out some simple experiments. They will also make predictions about the absorbent properties of 3 materials.
SKILL BUILDER
Pupils will learn to manipulate and attach craft materials together. This will help them to become confident and competent makers in their tinker time project.
TINKER TIME
Pupils will design and build a boat to meet the design criteria. They will aim to create several iterations by rapid prototyping their ideas in draft form and testing early on in the process. This allows lots of time to see what works and what doesn't.
MEET AN ENGINEER
Nick - Materials Engineer
This project has been inspired by Nick, a Materials Engineer. To help children better understand what engineering is and what engineers do, it is important that they have the opportunity to meet one (even virtually!) Use this video to introduce a real engineer to your class.
NICK.pdf
Part 1: Float or Sink?
Use the float or sink google slides to structure the activity.
Examples of objects could include a stone, bottle top, tin foil, apple, orange, empty plastic bottle, sponge, coin, key, Lego figure, ice cube, shell, leaf.
The bottle top, tin foil, apple and orange are especially interesting to introduce pupils to the scientific concepts of density, buoyancy and flotation (we have included some question suggestions below)
Why do some objects Float and some Sink?
Ask pupils why they think some objects float and some sink.
They may suggest that it is to do with how big or heavy something is.
You could ask them to think about why a big and heavy ship can float.
What we want them to learn is that it is to do with density and surface area rather than weight (the slides may help with this). Use the voting cards again to check pupil learning on slides 6 and 7 of the 'Float or Sink' google slide.
Question suggestions
COIN Does the coin float or sink?
BOTTLE TOP The bottle top floats either way up, does it still float if a coin is put on it? How about multiple coins?
APPLE The apple floats (pupils may not have predicted this) Why might this be unexpected? Why do pupils think the apple floats?
ORANGE The orange floats with its skin on but not when peeled. This may be a useful example to use as a teacher led activity. Ask pupils to use their voting cards to predict whether they think the orange will float firstly with the skin on - why do pupils think this is? Then peel the orange and ask them to predict again. Show pupils that the orange will sink without the skin on - why do pupils think this is?
KITCHEN FOIL The kitchen foil sinks when tightly screwed up (removing all the air) into a ball but floats when laid flat - why do pupils think this is?
Explanations
COINS Adding a single coin to a bottle top will not sink because there is still lots of air in the top.
BOTTLE TOP Replacing the air in the bottle top with coins will increase the density making it sink eventually (the more air, the more it will float).
ORANGE/APPLE The waterproof skin of the apple and orange traps the air inside and the air helps it to float. (Air is less dense than water). - Think about inflatable armbands/toys. When we peel the orange, the flesh of the fruit doesn't contain enough air to keep it afloat.
KITCHEN FOIL Kitchen foil is a light-weight metal that floats when spread out on top of water because of its surface area. The bigger the surface area, the more it will float. If you form a loose ball with air pockets in, it is still likely to float.
Part 2: Waterproof or absorbent?
(approx. 15 mins)Use the waterproof or absorbent google slide.
Introduce pupils to the words waterproof and absorbent. Ask pupils what they think they mean.
Ask pupils to decide which of the 3 materials they think are waterproof and why?
Watch the Ultimate Brain Mad Lab clip in the resource library below to see if they were right.
Resources from School
Examples of objects could include a stone, bottle top, tin foil, apple, orange, empty plastic bottle, sponge, coin, key, Lego figure, ice cube, shell, leaf.
Craft manipulation & attachment techniques
(approx. 1 hr)To help children to become independent makers it is helpful for them to learn some basic techniques to manipulate and attach craft materials together. This will help them with their tinker time project. Check out these ideas below and try them with your class.
Straws & pipe cleaners
Learn how to use pieces of pipe cleaner to join straws together.
Foil sculptures
Foil is not just for sandwiches! You can use it to create loads of exciting shapes and sculptures.
Craft stick crafts
Explore joining craft sticks using glue. Try using sticky pads as another way to attach.
Corks & cocktail sticks
Spikey things such as cocktail sticks can be inserted into a cork. Can you join 2 corks together with sticks?
Take it further?
Can you write your initials? Each letter using a different technique?
Recycle your materials by taking apart your models and place the materials back in the correct place.
Resources from Maker{Kit}
Straws
Pipe cleaners
Foil
Corks
Craft sticks
Cocktail sticks
Sticky pads
Resources from School
Craft supplies
Watch this clip to find out how you can be an engineer volunteer!
Be an Engineer Volunteer!
Nick has been given an exciting engineering challenge.
But he is very busy and needs some assistance. Can you help?
Make a prototype boat
(1 - 2 hours)Tinker time activities are child lead activities aimed to deepen thinking, skills and knowledge gained through the exploration and skill builder activities (together with existing knowledge and skills). The idea is to give children little or no instruction, but let them make their own decisions to create their own design solutions. The learning objective focuses on effectively using the iterative Maker{Cycle} process rather than on the finished product. Children should aim to create several iterations by rapid prototyping their ideas in draft form and test early on in the process. This allows lots of time to see what works and what doesn't. Children will need reminding to test their prototypes along the way.
What is a prototype?
A draft version that can be changed or improved. Rapid prototyping involves making simple, quick drafts to test an idea or concept.
Resources from Maker{Kit}
Corks
Foil
Craft sticks
Cocktail sticks
Pipe cleaners
Sticky pads
Paper straws
Masking tape
Resources from School
Plastic animals/toys
Paper
Felt/material
Conkers
Sponges
Milk bottle tops
Plastic bottles
Glue
Additional tape
Teacher Tips: Collaboration or Competition?
The maker ethos focuses on collaboration and sharing rather than competition. If you want to run this with a competitive element, ensure the emphasis is on rewarding the design process as well as outcomes.
OR
The aim could be to get the best boat possible as a class by selecting the best features of each group's work. Here, effective collaboration skills could be rewarded as part of the project.
Money Boats.pdfExtension activity
Money Boats challenge. Pupils could complete this at home.
Feeling stuck, overwhelmed or just have a question?
We understand that there are elements of these projects that may be new to you or that you feel unsure about having a go at. If there are things you are unsure about or want to ask questions, please email Alison Buxton alison.buxton@sheffield.ac.uk so we can support you.
Don't forget to take lots of photos and videos for your show reel to show at our celebration event.
When you have completed your projects - please submit your teacher and pupil feedback forms.
Have fun!
Risk Assessment
RA Float your Boat.pdfUse this risk assessment to support your planning and delivery of the Float your Boat project