STEM Challenge for Summer with Buoyancy - Design a Submersible

STEM Challenge for Summer: Design a Submersible!

This is one of the more challenge STEM activities I have done with kids over the years! It's also perfect for summer because you will get wet!

Warning: You WILL Get Wet with this STEM Challenge

Why try this challenge? I can't even tell you how many boat challenges I have done with kids, asking for a simple craft that floats, something that can be propelled with wind (sailboat), and so on.

You have probably also done "Does it sink or float?" activities with your students over the years.

This challenge is a combination of all those!

What if we want an object to not sink,

but to float,

but not at the surface and rather about halfway between the bottom of a body of water and the top?

Gather Materials for Submersible STEM

First, gather all materials needed for the challenge:

For the water:

You will need a tub, storage bin, kiddie pool, etc. for this challenge. You will also need to fill the bin with water.

Students can create their submersibles with aluminum foil, popsicle sticks, plastic egg carton pieces, balloons, rubber bands, recyclables, pennies or small weights, etc.

Your students can start in one of two ways:

• With an object that floats, that they will need to make LESS buoyant.
  
• With an object that sinks, that they will need to make MORE buoyant.
  

Go Deeper with Science in this STEM Challenge

Have your students research density and buoyancy. Ask:

How does the density of an object affect its buoyancy?

When might you want a water vessel to NOT be completely buoyant?

What skills do students work on? In addition to following the Engineering Design Process to complete this challenge, students will need to work together and may need to make several modifications to improve their sail designs.

Add more rigor into this activity and download printables for students to use with the STEM challenge resource (or get the pack of Summer STEM challenges) on Teachers pay Teachers (also includes sand castle STEM and a squirrel proof bird feeder):

Pin these ideas for later:

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Wordless Wednesday: Chess Camp This Week!

Solar Print Art!

I have had solar print paper for awhile, but kept forgetting to get it out. This morning was such a beautiful and sunny one, and I finally remembered to get out our solar print paper! I love nature and of course my first thought was to collect leaves and flowers for the project. However, my kids are less enthused about that kind of thing so I told them to find some LEGOs instead! I recommended getting some with holes, and some figures. I also grabbed the craft sticks, because they were there.  =)

What a cool and simple project to do! All you really need is the solar print paper, a shady spot, a sunny spot, some objects, and a pan of water. Here is the first batch just after putting it in the sun:

This is what it looked like about 5 or 6 minutes later:

 The package said it would take 1 to 3 minutes, but ours definitely took longer. We used a rock to hold the plastic window down, but that probably wouldn't be necessary if you used flat objects. Here is the layout we used for the second batch:

I love the 3D look of the finished project! We will be doing these again soon for sure. Here is a larger view of the four completed prints:

Have you tried solar print art with your kids? I would love to try this again with some lace or strings. I like them so much I think I might put them on display in my living room! I will upload the picture if and when that happens.

Wordless Wednesday: Waiting for a Wave!

Wordless Wednesday: Cheery Cherries

Saturday Sweets: Blueberries!

This morning we went blueberry picking, and it's easy picking right now! 36.5 pounds in only 50 minutes! I can't wait to make all things blueberry! I'd love for you to share your favorite blueberry recipe below!

Free Summer Fun!

This week we finally got a chance to use our Kids Bowl Free passes! Massachusetts is one crazy, wacky state (commonwealth)? Whatever. They don't have regular bowling, only candlepin, eh (apparently candlepin is popular in some parts of Canada too)? On the plus side, the balls are small and easy for kids to hold and throw. The pins don't fall over like regular bowling pins, though. It's more likely they fall to the back than knock each other down. Also? YOU GET THREE BALLS PER FRAME! What? You'd think you'd bowl 10 every frame, but it happens far less often than you'd think. In any case, it's still fun.

If you haven't signed up, check out the website and see if there's an alley near you! We always get the adult pass, too. I've found it well worth the $25 for 4 named adults!

Another free thing we'll try tomorrow is the Bookworm Wednesdays at our local cinemas.

If the kids (ages 6+) fill out a one page book report, they get to see a movie for free! Tomorrow is Despicable Me 2, and of course my boys find the minions in the movie hilarious, so we are going to go. Here they are working on their reports:

I had my 6yo write the title, author, one sentence, and his name. I wrote a few more sentences he dictated to me, since he is still working on his writing confidence. He got a little frustrated, so I guess that means we need to spend a bit more time on it. We've slacked off on our more formal homeschooling the past few weeks in lieu of summer activities. We tend to be pretty relaxed homeschoolers, but we do try to work on reading and writing skills as they are important as a learning foundation.

We participated in another free program where you log reading hours and get free passes to Six Flags with the Read to Succeed Program, but I'm not sure we will actually use them as it's not close and would be a very long day trip. We also have plans to visit a different, more kid-friendly theme park so I'm not sure we need to do both anyway!

What free or almost free activities do you have in your area? Do you school through the summer?

Summer in Full Swing!

We have been so busy this summer! It is really flying by. Here is the mini update!

Big Kid (H) went to tech camp that I won in a raffle (woohoo!) and created a video game called Frosty's Adventure, where Frosty must pick up bombs (snowballs?) and hit the people with them in order to pass, and then reach the green door to get to the next level. He created 12 levels in all and I was really impressed he was able to do this in a one week, half-day camp!

We harvested the first of our garden beets last week! It's one of the few vegetables both kids like, so I need to remember to start seeds every few weeks next year. This year I forgot until the first batch was almost ready. It looks like we'll have a few dozen in the current crop. We also picked the first of our peppers! That means it's been hot! Usually we don't get peppers until August.

This past week we went to Rhode Island. My parents rent a house there in summer and I took the kids for the week, where they got to play with their cousins and spend lots of time at the beach. We also went miniature golfing, go-kart racing, bowling, and out for special treats. How lucky are these kids?

 
My favorite part about the beach? Going in the early morning when no one is there and running on the sand! Unfortunately it was very humid one day, which made for an unpleasant run, pouring rain another, and an obscenely early morning on another day, so I only ran twice there, but I did log 8.5 miles in those two runs so I won't complain any more about it.

This was a really neat surprise! When the kids and I were jumping waves, a young artist named Sofie drew this adorable sketch of us. I absolutely love it! She initially didn't sign it but I asked her to tell me her name and then to sign it.

 I hope everyone is having a good summer so far!

Kids bowl free!

We have participated in this wonderful program for the past few summers, and I have just signed us up again. If you haven't signed up before, your kids (ages 3-15) get 2 free games each day all summer long! You will need to rent bowling shoes as that cost isn't included (or you may bring your own if you have them!). This is a great activity on those rainy summer days or even the oppressively hot days; we hang out in the cool AC and still get our energy out!

Be sure to check the map for the closest bowling alley. I usually sign up for the family pass too so we can all bowl if we go on a weekend (you can save 10% with code DARIN10 at checkout). If your kids like math like mine do, bring some bowling score sheets for math practice!

Nature Bingo Printable Activity - Take a Hike with your Kids

Play Nature Bingo on a Nature Walk! 

At one lovely visit to Dinosaur State Park in Connecticut, they had a game of Nature Bingo available that the kids found really enjoyable. All you need is images and/or words of things in nature that you would find in your neighborhood. I made the following cards based on things we might see in our neighborhood, but feel free to make your own if you have different nature items near you. This is a great activity for Earth Day to really connect with nature.

How to Use these Nature Bingo Cards

• Print out and laminate the cards, then (optional)
• Hole punch two holes to thread yarn so you can wear the card around your neck.
• Use washable markers / dry erase to mark off what you see.

I attached Velcro stickers to the Nature Bingo cards and washable markers so you don't have to hold your marker either. Use these cards over and over again, whether you are camping, exploring a new hiking trail, or going for a walk in your neighborhood.  Feel free to click on the images to enlarge and print them or download the entire set at my Teachers pay Teachers store! I may add a 5x5 true BINGO card in the future, but 4x4 seems to be the right size for preK through lower elementary.

Update: there is also a free downloadable set available at the Mass Audubon site!

*Full image credits are included in the full download, available at Teachers pay Teachers.