Rafting
Here’s a great project for all the sticks littering your yard after this week’s wind storm!
Hundreds of years ago, indigenous groups in North America used rafts made of wooden logs to sail on the oceans and trade with other civilizations. Can you use sticks to build a (mini) raft of your own?
You will need: an assortment of sticks, string or twine, hot glue or another attachment method of your choice.
BRAINSTORM: What is the best way to build your raft? Which sticks should you use? Do some sticks have more buoyouncy (float better) than others? What is the best way to attach your sticks to each other so that they can’t move around? Search the internet or look at pictures in books for inspiration!
DESIGN: Grab a piece of paper and a pencil and draw how you want your raft to look! Are there ways to make your design more stable? Where will your cargo sit? Do you want to add a sail or steering mechanism? What would that look like?
BUILD AND TEST: Using the materials on hand, put your raft together. Test it out in the sink, bathtub or a kiddy pool. Does it work the way you wanted? How can you improve the design? Use pennies, rocks or other small objects to see if your raft can hold weight!
Post a picture of your raft in the comments and let us know how it goes!
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