PreK students ventured to the Middle School to learn more about the ocean and experiment with flotation.
"We thought it would be neat for the PreK students to get to see a different science space and do an experiment we do in PreK, in a Middle School lab," explained PreK Teacher Mary Leach.
After reading Boats Float! with Middle School Science Teacher Steve Kerwin, students moved to lab desks to design their own foil boats and then predict how many sea creatures would fit before it sinks.
"I am making a boat, so we can try and float them," explained Maddie.
"We are going to put animals in our boat like for cargo," said another student.
"They will then test their hypothesis and compare the actual result to their prediction," said Mr. Kerwin.
"I think 12!" offered an enthusiastic student.
"We do a different theme every month but oceans lasts two months because it's so exciting," said Mrs. Leach. "This week, we are talking about coral, sea stars, and jellyfish. We also talk about the zones of the ocean. They want to dive deep."
"Float means it just stays on the top," explained Heidi.
"Can I help?" asked a curious student.
Students took turns dropping plastic animals into their boats as the class counted out loud.
"Try to balance it. If you put one on one side, then put one on the other side to balance that weight a little bit," suggested Mr. Kerwin.
"Let's see how many you can get in there. Let's all count. One, two, three, four. Oh, it's still floating," said Mrs. Leach. "Wow, I knew it would!" said Maddie.
"What are you noticing that is different about Ethan's boat? About the size of it?" asked Mrs. Leach. "It's a little bit bigger, and it's a little bit flatter," observed Merritt.
"It's neat for our younger students to get a taste of a different environment and experiment in the Middle School science lab," said Mr. Kerwin.
"I put in 19!" said Noah.
"23, 24, 25," counted the class. "Oh my goodness! 26, 27, 28, 29, 30. Is it sinking yet? That was it. 31!" squealed an excited student.
"Different boats can hold more than others," said Reid. "A big boat holds more!"
"It really can in real life too," said Noah.