In class with Lower School Science teacher Emily Davies, the students have been learning about the properties of matter. Over the course of the unit of study, they have become experts on mass, volume, density, and states - solid, liquid, and gas. To wrap up the unit, Mrs. Davies tasked the students to use their knowledge and apply it to the culminating learning activity.

It was now time for the students to get creative as they were challenged to design a boat that could float for at least 30 seconds and hold a boatload of pennies. For the boat designs, the students drew and labeled a design detailing what properties would help the boat float and what would help it hold more weight. A few of the boat designs were updated throughout the process to reflect any changes based on their class lessons.

Now it was time for fun as the students and Mrs. Davies gathered outside behind the classroom to test the boats. One-by-one, the students put their boat into the small pool to test its buoyancy and strength. Mrs. Davies shared that it was great to see students cheering on their friends as more pennies were added to each boat. The amount of pennies increased and decreased with each test, but one boat surpassed the others with over 80 pennies.

Mrs. Davies noted that her favorite moment came when a student’s boat almost capsized and a fellow classmate said, “your boat maybe didn't float, but I think you should get 50 extra points because it looked so cool!"