Science Club - Building Cardboard Boats

Our Jan / Feb / Mar / Apr topic for Science Club is building our entries for the annual Great Cardboard Boat Regatta held at SIU's Campus Lake!

Waldorf curriculum-wise, this project goes with the Building and Measurement themes of Third Grade math. Here are some of my notes:

Session 1
Thu Jan 4

find out student prior knowledge about the Cardboard Boat Regatta

ask students who had participated in the Regatta last year to share about their experiences building and racing their boats, allow plenty of time for all students to ask questions and comment (one hour)

show pictures from the 2022 race and the 2023 race, make notes on which qualities make a boat do well

have students sit separately from one another and draw their OWN ideas about a boat design (ten minutes)

bring the children back together and have them present their designs

have students rearrange themselves so that children with similar design ideas are together; have students rearrange themselves so that children who think they would work well together are together

based on the results of this process make final decisions about teams: we have four teams (two teams of 4 and two teams of 2)

pass out graph paper to teams and have them make a scale drawing

pass out rulers and yardsticks to teams and have each group outline their boat's length and width on the floor using masking tape

Session 2
Thu Jan 11

in advance: teachers watch this video!

share formula for calculating how high up the water will come on the side of your boat, depending on the weight of the children that are in it (and the corresponding volume of water you will displace) and the footprint of the boat

do a demonstration to prove this idea:
- place a large pot that weighs 5# into a tub of water and mark where the water comes up on the side of the pot
- fill a container that has a smaller footprint with the same amount of weight and mark where the water comes up on the side of it
- the container with the smaller footprint will ride deeper in the water

weigh all the members of your group individually (round to the nearest whole pound) and find the sum

use a ruler to calculate the area of your boat's footprint

run the formula for each team (total weight of children divided by 62.4 = cubic feet of water to be displaced; divide that number by the area of your boat in square feet, then multiply that by 12 to find how high up the water will rise on the sides of your boat in inches)

revise the shape of your boat's footprint, if needed, to get that number to be 2 or 3 inches

make a decision about how high the sides of your boat should be

Session 3
Thu Jan 18

goal: build a 3-D model of your boat using old file folders

we have kept the tape footprints on the floor this whole time and I think they are really useful to the children

last week we calculated how high the side of the boat would be, so now they have all three dimensions!

each group went with a scale of one inch = one foot

print one inch graph paper (FREE on TpT) and give four sheets to each group along with four old file folders, scissors, pencils, a ruler, clear tape, and a black Sharpie

we had two light boxes available as well

the children drew each piece of their boat on the graph paper and then placed the graph paper on the light box with the file folder on top, transferred the lines to the file folder, and cut them out

two teams finished their models this week and two teams (which have more complex designs) will use next week's class to finish theirs

Session 4
Thu Jan 25

decide on your team's purpose for making a boat (to be artistic, to build things, to win) and whether you want to hear suggestions of "how" it should be build or use your own ideas

watch How to Make a Cardboard Boat That Wins video from Patriot Contraptions

make notes on building suggestions from the video plus building suggestions from our librarian friend

revise designs and/or make a second file folder model, if needed

Session 5
Thu Feb 1

learn our new song, which we will sing at the beginning and end of each Science Club meeting, to keep us in the right frame of mind:
Sing ho for the glorious adventure

Sing ho for having lots of fun

All that matters is that we learn to measure

And that we don't leave out anyone!


label all sides of your file folder model boat with letters

measure and draw one side of your boat (do 3 layers of cardboard alternating grain), label pieces so I can cut them over the weekend


Notes

- January: choose teams, design your boat, make a scale model

- February: measure and cut all cardboard pieces

- March: assemble the boats

- April: do field trips to practice rowing (race is Sat Apr 20)

- get donations of yardsticks (1 per child) and corrugated cardboard

- order 12 rolls of duct tape per group (white for the mermaid boat, silver for the other three)

- it works best to have students lay out and measure cardboard in the driveway where there's lots of room

- have kids place cardboard which needs to be cut in the living room

- have kids place extra uncut cardboard in the library

- cut cardboard on Saturdays with Kamea

- boats-in-progress will be stored in the shed (leave in place Thu/Fri so glue can dry, move to shed Sat AM, move back to house Thu PM)

Session 6
Thu Feb 8

continue measuring and drawing lines for pieces to be cut out

(change of strategy: instead of drawing one piece three times, we decided to use today to draw EACH piece of the boat ONE time, so that those pieces could act as patterns once they were cut out)

Session 7
Thu Feb 15

print a set of rules for each team's folder

sort available cardboard pieces into small, medium, and large

use patterns cut from last week to trace and label 2, 3, or 4 of each piece (depending on your boat design)

write a note and tell me how many more pieces you need to cut


for next week:
- test flour/water proportions for paste
- buy 10 lb flour
- inventory supply of caulk & liquid nails
- order three sheets of cardboard per team

Session 8
Thu Feb 22

make a batch of flour/water paste (total time 30 minutes)

1 cup flour : 4 cups water
add enough water to flour to make a smooth mixture when stirred
put 4 cups hot tap water into saute pan and add flour/water slurry
bring to a boil while stirring constantly
take off heat and let cool while stirring constantly

have students make their "sandwiches" (paste together the layers for each side of the boat, alternating the grain of the cardboard)

pass out colored dot stickers (red, yellow, green, blue) for marking each team's rolls of duct tape and cardboard pieces

have students do an inventory and make a chart of how many boat pieces are stacked/pasted and how many still need to be traced/cut

carry in a large donation of cardboard - 8 foot x 7 foot rectangles - 12 sheets @ $4.00 per sheet - thank you to Ms. Bridget and Evelyn!

Session 9
Thu Feb 29

Today the goal was for each team to use their inventories, their patterns, and their three sheets of cardboard to trace ALL REMAINING boat pieces. Instead we discovered that many teams were missing pattern pieces. They spent today going back and measuring their file folder model boats (because they didn't have measurements written down anywhere) and figuring out the missing patterns and tracing those.

So, to recap.

I think Session 1 with considering design ideas, choosing teams, making a scale drawing, and marking the footprint of your boat on the floor with masking tape (length x width) was good.

I think Session 2 with calculating the weight of all the people in your team, using the formula to determine how high up the water would come up the side of your boat, and deciding on the height of the walls was good. Although we did just end up telling them it needs to be 12 or 18 inches. But I think it did help them picture it as a boat.

I think Session 3 with using old file folders (and a light box) to make a 3-D scale model of your boat with file folders was good.

BUT

I would change Session 4 to be labeling each side of the file folder model with letters or symbols and then making a chart that has organizational columns.

- the name of the piece (side of point)
- the letter/symbol for the piece (C)
- the dimensions (1 ft x 1 1/2 ft)
- how many of those pieces need to be cut
- pattern made (check off when done)
- pieces cut (use tally marks to count, then check off when done)

Then in Session 5 they can measure and make all of their patterns. They are using yardsticks, drawing lines in pencil, tracing the final lines in Sharpie, writing the piece symbol inside the shape, marking it with a colored dot, and making me a pile of things to be cut.

We used four colors of file folders -- yellow, red, blue, green -- and then I gave them dot stickers that match those colors so that they can organize their cardboard pieces, duct tape, and so on by team.

The color coding is working out great. But keeping themselves organized re. the patterns and the tracing of all of those pieces has been hard. Even with the adults doing all of the cutting on the weekends, and taking that off the to-do list for the children, they are having a hard time keeping track of where they are in their design.

Session 10
Thu Mar 7

Today we had two additional parent volunteers and each team had a dedicated adult. We made charts like the one I brainstormed last week and the adult stayed with the team until ALL remaining pieces were successfully traced. It worked like a charm. So next time I would do the dedicated adult much sooner. I'm not sure about a dedicated adult right away, like session 6, because I think it was valuable for them to make one sandwich (pasting together all layers for one side of the boat) all on their own and realize that they didn't have as much traced as they thought they did -- and be open to help -- as opposed to someone swooping in and saving them when they weren't ready to ask for assistance yet. Something to think about.

Session 11
Thu Mar 21

make a batch of flour/water paste

two teams (red, yellow) assemble sandwiches, using paste

two teams (green, blue) add side and bottom pieces to thicken the layers on existing large boxes, using duct tape to cover all seams EACH time you add a piece of new cardboard

we are curious to see which strategy works best! is it better to have lots of tiny seams, all waterproofed with duct tape, or to laminate thick side and bottom pieces and then use a waterproof adhesive (caulk or liquid nails) to hold the seam when they are put together

they are getting excited to see their boats actually coming together! as we were carrying one to the shed, a child remarked to me "this is a very boat-ish boat"

Session 12
Thu Mar 28

watch Middle School Cardboard Boat Race

finish boat assembly

two tubes per team of waterproof adhesive (caulk or Liquid Nails)

reinforce exterior, begin to waterproof exterior (duct tape)

Session 13
Thu Apr 4

reinforce interior, begin to waterproof interior

note: the Liquid Nails did not work as well as the caulk

we like Dap 18526 White Kwik Seal Plus Kitchen & Bath Adhesive Caulk, which is very strong and comes in tubes that do not require a caulking gun and therefore are easier for little hands

we have used a lot of L- and U-shaped pieces of cardboard, both on the inside and outside of the boat, for reinforcement around the corners; use caulk as the "glue" for these pieces and then cover them with duct tape so they stay in place while drying

choose boat names

Kitchen Team / Yellow / "Silverstream"

Library Team / Green / "The Most Original Boat Name Ever"

Entryway Team / Red / "Pearl Moon"

Living Room Team / Blue / "The GLZ"

Session 14
Thu Apr 11

strengthening the outside some more, if needed

finishing the waterproofing of the exterior

note to self: a roll of white duct tape is only 20 yards; a roll of silver duct tape is 45 yards

I wouldn't get the white again! that team ran out, but the silver tape is still going strong

Rowing Practice Field Trip
Sat Apr 13

Session 15
Thu Apr 18

The 49th Annual Great Cardboard Boat Regatta
Sat Apr 20

Total Number of Boats: 4

Total Amount of Time: 15 weeks @ 2 hours per week = 30 hours per boat

Total Cost: $567.51

Feb 1 - Amazon - 12 rolls duct tape per team - $277.31
Feb 4 - Amazon - ten utility knife blades - $3.28
Feb 21 - Bridget donate 12 sheets of cardboard @ $4.00 each - $48.00
Mar 28 - Amazon - 4 tubes caulk for Science Club - $38.92
Apr 13 - Field Trip @ http://www.littlegrassylakecampground.com - $140.00
Entry Fee - $15.00 per boat - $60.00

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