They’re off to the races! Chadwick Grade 8 students participated in the annual cardboard boat races today putting their creations to the test. Students have been working in teams for the past 6 weeks to design and build boats made of just cardboard and packing tape.
With recent lessons learned about buoyancy and displacement in mind, students inquired into structural forms to come up with potential designs. They went on to spend several weeks researching, ideating, testing and reworking their designs to create a boat that is both structurally sound and lightweight.
This year’s competition was as steep as ever with innovative designs, lots of hard work and plenty of team spirit. Students vied for first place in three categories: Fastest Pool Crossing, Design and Theme. There is also another recognition, one that designers actively tried to avoid, called the Titanic. While there were no physical prizes for winning, students were plenty motivated by the chance for glory and bragging rights.
The assignment is a tradition at Chadwick and is often among the most memorable for students. While the main goal is to apply science, engineering and math knowledge to a design problem, the project also ends up generating a lot of school spirit.