Make a floating device
Have you been spending a little more time in the bath lately? We want you to design, build and test your own floating device using creativity, problem solving and a few things from around your house.
- Find a tub, or a bowl, or head to a sink, and fill your vessel with water
- Find some common objects from around your house, such as dinosaur toys, cutlery, blocks, pencils and marbles, and test to see if they float or sink!
- Take a piece of aluminium foil and shape it into your own floating device. Is there anything you can add to it to help your contraption float? Don’t forget to decorate!
Our Scienceworks challenge to you
See how many teaspoons you can get floating on top of your floating device before it sinks!
Density
Whether something floats or sinks depends on its density. Density can be described as how heavy or light something is for its size. The shape of an object can also be important for floatation. Do you have any plasticine at home? When you squash it into a ball and place in water, the plasticine normally sinks. But if you change the shape of your plasticine into something elongated and boat-shaped, can you get it to float?