+
Activity
DiscoverE

Curious George Sailboat

For Teachers K - 2nd
A whole-group discussion kicks off a hands-on activity that challenges young engineers to build a sailboat using reusable materials. Participants gather recycled items to assemble their one-of-a-kind sailboat and test its ability to...
+
Lesson Plan
Bonneville

TinkerCAD: Introduction to 3D Printing

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Steer young minds to build better boats. Future engineers first spend a few days exploring the TinkerCAD software and completing some embedded lessons. They then design sea crafts with buoyancy in mind and print them using a 3-D printer.
+
Interactive
Arcademics

Bumper Boat Bash

For Students 2nd - 4th Standards
Speed through a bumper boat course to practice making nouns plural. Scholars read 26 plural nouns and choose the correct form out of three to advance their boat closer to the finish line.
+
Activity1:47
DiscoverE

Everyday Engineering: Foil Boats

For Students 3rd - 8th
Keep one's dream of becoming an engineer afloat. Learners apply the engineering design process to build a boat out of aluminum foil. They start with a square boat, then consider whether boats of different shapes would be able to hold...
+
Activity
Museum of Science

Paddle Boat

For Teachers K - 6th
Harness the power of rubber bands of all things. A hands-on activity has scholars design and build paddle boats. They learn how the elastic potential energy of rubber bands can be converted to the kinetic energy associated with motion.
+
Activity
Teach Engineering

Keep Your Boat Afloat

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Use whatever material floats your boat. Working in groups, scholars decide on a type of metal and a type of coating to use for building a boat. They test their creations by leaving their boats in a pool of water for several days before...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
Purdue University

Slow Boat Design

For Teachers 4th Standards
Don't be a drag. Learners work in groups to design boats that move slowly. The provided reason for the activity is that a fish caught on a fishing reel is pulling the boat, causing it to move too fast. The STEM activity teaches the class...
+
Activity
1
1
Teach Engineering

Buoyant Boats

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Eureka! Using the clay boats made in the previous lesson, learners investigate the idea of buoyancy and water displacement to finish the last installment of five in a Floaters and Sinkers unit. Their observations during the activity...
+
Activity
1
1
Teach Engineering

Clay Boats

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Clay itself sinks, but clay boats float. Why? Young engineers build clay boats to learn about buoyancy. They test the weight the boats can hold using washers and then tweak their designs to make improvements, following the engineering...
+
Activity
PBS

Paddle Power

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Potentially get all the way across the water. The fourth of five design challenges asks pupils to develop a plan for a paddle-powered boat that will store its energy. Given a limited number of supplies, the class members design, build,...
+
Activity
PBS

Watercraft

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Whatever floats your boat—with some additional weight. The first activity in a five-part series challenges pupils to design a boat to hold pennies. Using the design process, learners design, build, and test their boats, making sure they...
+
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Airboats

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Don't let the resource blow you away. Scholars build airboats from basic materials and collect data on how far the boats move. They refine their designs taking Newton's laws into consideration.
+
Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Vector Multiplied by a Scalar: Boat Race

For Students 11th - Higher Ed Standards
Find the right number of vectors to get to the finish line. Using a boat race scenario, pupils add multiples of the same vector together. The scholars use scalar multiplication to speed up the boats in an exciting race to the finish. 
+
Activity
NOAA

Boat Building Challenge

For Students 3rd - 5th
Scholars build a boat using an assortment of materials such as foam plates, aluminum foil, and skewers, then test its buoyancy with pennies. Challenge boat builders to construct the strongest or fastest boat in a healthy competition with...
+
Lesson Plan
National Sailing Hall of Fame

Introduction to Sailboats

For Teachers 7th - 12th
The left part of the boat is called what? An informative activity and accompanying slideshow presentation introduce middle schoolers to the terminology and parts associated with a sailboat.
+
Printables
PreKinders

Transportation Word Cards

For Teachers Pre-K - K
Beep beep! Zoom! Honk honk! Explore the world of transportation with a set of transportation picture word cards. Fifteen cards show trucks, planes, trains, boats, and many more types of transportation, complete with pictures and names. 
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Taking the Boat to Manaus

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders apply the concepts they know regarding mass, volume and density in the previous activities to design a boat. Student teams must make a boat which can travel the waters of the Amazon Rainforest. Each group makes a...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Great Streamboat Race

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Young scholars analyze currents. In this Science lesson, students race small boats in a creek or stream. Young scholars time the currents and collect organisms from the creek or stream.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Floats Your Boat?

For Teachers 4th - 6th
This open-ended boat building exercise is meant to be part of a three-lesson series on ships. Links to the other two lessons are included. This particular part is mostly a group lab activity in which they build a boat, find its load line...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Boat Safety and Water Sports - Lesson 14 - Hand Signals

For Teachers 9th - 12th
When water skiing or wake boarding, hand signals are the most effective way of communicating. Use this lesson on boat safety to ensure that your youngsters are using the proper precautions before engaging in water sports.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Buoyant Boats

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore the concept of mass and buoyancy. After building boats out of several materials, they predict whether each boat floats if certain objects are added. Students test their predictions and draw conclusions from their...
+
PPT
Curated OER

Transportation Then and Now

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Compare and contrast how transportation has changed throughout the years. This image-driven slide show depicts a variety of advances in transportation. Covered wagons, coaches, trolley cars, boats, and bikes are shown as they were in the...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Boat Safety and Water Sports - Lesson 18 - Wake Board Terms

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Boat safety lesson 18 is all about the wake board.  The class learns the terminology about wake boards and discusses the different types of ropes used. Much of the information regarding boating basics, personal floatation devices, and...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Boat Safety and Water Sports - Lesson 21 - Wake Boarding Review

For Teachers 9th - 12th
In boat safety lesson 21, the class reviews the basic techniques of wakeboarding. They review the skills and perform them in the pool with a partner. There are many resource links associated with this lesson.