The Boat & The Beetle STEM Activity
When it comes to the world of children, questioning is a natural phenomenon.
This is especially true when it comes to the WHY questions. In fact, children typically ask an average of four WHY questions per day.
While this can be a bit exasperating for parents at times, it’s actually a very good thing.
Which is ‘why’ (excuse the pun) it’s good to have some answers up your sleeve, as well as a fun activity to do with your child to explore the answer to the question together.
“Why does…”
One WHY question you might encounter is about why some objects sink and others float when you put them in water.
We’ve found a fun activity you can do with your child to explore the answer to the question called The Boat and the Beetle.
Activity: The Boat and the Beetle
The Boat and the Beetle activity is designed to help children learn about the principles of floating and sinking.
The activity forms part of the Primary + STEM team’s curated selection of Teaching Resources which have been mapped to the Victorian education curriculum.
The activity includes a creative hands-on design challenge as well as a cute story to set the scene.
Some quick ‘science’ to get you started…
One of the most amazing things about bugs is that they can walk on water. This is possible because of surface tension.
Surface tension is the property of a liquid that allows it to resist an external force.
This force is caused by the attraction between the molecules in the liquid. In the case of water, this attraction is caused by the hydrogen bonds between the water molecules.
What allows bugs to walk on water is the fact that they are very light.
The more weight an object has, the harder it is for it to float. This is because the force of gravity is greater than the surface tension of the liquid. Another factor that affects whether something floats or sinks is its density.
Density is the measurement of how much mass is contained in a certain amount of space. The greater the density of an object, the more it will sink in a liquid.
A practical activity
The Boat and the Beetle activity has been created for children aged 4-7.
The activity includes a .pdf downloadable lesson plan.
To complete the activity and discover the answer to your ‘why’ question, it’s advised to have the following materials on hand:
- Modelling clay or plasticine
- A toy boat/ship
- crayons and paper
- a body of water (e.g. a bucket 1/2 filled with water, or an outdoor wading pool if available)
- a plastic cover for your table (to prevent mess!)
Get started by visiting the activity website here
Info for teachers
This resource helps develop an understanding of the principles of floating and sinking in young learners. Students explore how boats and ships use the principle of displacement and buoyancy to stay afloat. The students will build and test their preliminary boat designs. After evaluating their initial designs, students will be encouraged to make changes to improve their boat’s ability to float.
This activity has been mapped to the Victorian curriculum:
• Learning area: F-10: Design and Technologies
• Curriculum code:
Design & Technologies > Levels F to 2 > Engineering principles and systems > VCDSTC014
Design & Technologies > Levels F to 2 > Creating Designed Solutions > VCDSCD018
Design & Technologies > Levels F to 2 > Creating Designed Solutions > VCDSCD019
Design & Technologies > Levels F to 2 > Creating Designed Solutions > VCDSCD020
Design & Technologies > Levels F to 2 > Creating Designed Solutions > VCDSCD021
Design & Technologies > Levels F to 2 > Creating Designed Solutions > VCDSCD022
- Grade level: Foundation to 2
Image credit
Photo by Mike