For 3 to 5 year olds and their carers

www.questacon.edu.au

Open 9am – 5pm every day.Closed Christmas Day.Admission fees apply.King Edward Terrace, Canberrat 02 6270 2893

Experimenting at Home - Parent Resource

BoatsTo compliment this resource, watch the ‘Experimenting at Home – Boats’ video online and read the ‘Exploring with your Little Scientist Parent Resource’ sheet.

Resources � Things that float or sink (e.g. rocks, sticks,

Lego etc

� Things for making boats & rafts (e.g. plastic container, sticks, foil)

� Things to make mast and sail (e.g. stick, chopstick, paper, bluetac)

Safety � Ensure that children are always supervised

when near water

Getting started

Float or sink

Collect different objects and experiment with which objects float and sink. Encourage children to think about what might happen then put the object into the water to test if it floats or sinks. Sort the objects into two groups - floating and sinking. Investigate the similarities and differences between the objects that float and those that sink.

Water displacement

Next time you have a bath, put a piece of tape on the side of the bath to mark the water level. When you get into the bath investigate what happens to the water level. It rises! Why does this happen? When something goes into water it pushes water out of the way to make room for itself, this is called displacement. You can investigate this further by putting rocks (or heavy objects) into a glass of water and watch the water level rise. You can also read the book Archimedes Bath by Pamela Allen which investigates water displacement.

Why do boats float?

If an object is lighter than the water it displaces then the object will float. Boats are designed to have a shape that displaces a lot of water which allows even heavy boats to float.

For 3 to 5 year olds and their carers

www.questacon.edu.au

Open 9am – 5pm every day.Closed Christmas Day.Admission fees apply.King Edward Terrace, Canberrat 02 6270 2893

Exploring further

Experimenting with boat design

Encourage children to experiment with the design of boats. Design, build and test different types of boats to discover how they float.

Experiment with;

� Shape: design, build and test different shaped boats. For example, boats with sides or flat rafts, or comparing boats with a flat or rounded bottom. How does the shape of a boat effect how it floats or how much weight it will hold?

� Materials: design and build boats using a variety of materials (e.g. a plastic container or sticks tied together to make a raft). Does the material you use float or sink? How does this effect how well the boat floats? Test each boat to discover which materials work best.

� Size: design, build and test different sized boats. How does the size of the boat effect the way it floats or how much weight it can hold? Test how much weight it can hold by placing one small rock in the boat at a time until it sinks.

Extra ChallengesEncourage children to use their understandings of boat design to attempt the following challenges;

� Strong boats: Can you build a boat that will carry lots of weight? Use everything you have learned about boats to design and build a boat that can hold lots of weight. Test each boat you build by putting rocks or blocks into the boat to discover which will carry the most weight. Observe how the boat lowers in the water as it carries more and more weight. You can read Who Sank The Boat? by Pamela Allen which investigates what happens to a boat as more weight is put in.

� Sail boats: Try making a boat that moves by adding a sail. You can attach a mast to your boat to hold the sail. For a mast you can use anything that won’t bend, such as a stick, chopstick or pencil and attach it to your boat with blue tac or glue. Then attach the sail to the mast. Experiment with sails with different materials, sizes, and shapes. Can you think of any other ways to make your boat move.