Science Day Investigations!

Year 4 took part in an exciting investigation linked to our class book Kensuke's Kingdom.

We began by asking the question: Why do boats float but rocks sink? The children learned that boats float because their shape allows them to push water aside and spread their weight, while rocks sink because they are dense and cannot displace enough water.

The children then designed and made their own paper boats. Before testing them, they predicted how many marbles their boat could hold before sinking. We placed the boats in water and carefully added marbles one at a time to test each design.

Through this investigation, the children discovered that boat shape is important, and that wider boats with higher sides often held more marbles before sinking.

Finally, linking our science to the story, the children designed a boat for Michael to use to help him find his parents, thinking carefully about how to make it strong, stable and able to float safely.

It was a fun and engaging afternoon of scientific thinking, predicting and testing ideas. 🔬🚤