Hands-on science experiments that teach kids about how things
sink and float can be simple, use supplies pretty much every parent has, and are easy for kids to do without much supervision. This is the perfect
physics project for kids: How to Make a Hydrofoil, by Megan the author of
Coffee Cups and Crayons. Thanks for guest posting at Kids Activities Blog!
Sink and Float
Science activities are so much fun! One of our very favorite hands on kids science activities is making hydrofoils.
Hydrofoils are little boats the kids of all ages (even supervised toddlers!) can make out of tin foil. There are no instructions for how to make the hydrofoils, in fact tons of learning takes place during the design, creation, and testing of the boats.
Physics Project
How to Play with Hydrofoils:
1. Give each child a large piece of aluminum or tin foil. The exact size doesn’t matter as long as everyone’s is the same.
2.Instruct them to design hydrofoil that can hold a large amount of weight using only tin foil.
3.Let them design and test out their creations in a tub of water.
4.Provide them with materials to use as the weight. We used legos because they are everywhere in our house, but other good options would be beans, beads, erasers, etc.
5.Prompt the kids to adapt their designs until the come up with one that can hold lots of weight. (Hint: Large, flat hydrofoils float the longest!)
Water Experiment
TONS of learning takes place while playing with hydrofoils!
¢Kids are exploring the scientific properties of sink and float.
¢They are learning about the concept of heavy and light.
¢They are making observations and testing hypotheses.
¢They are learning about surface area and how it effects flotation.
¢They are starting to understand what scientists do and how the scientific process works.
…And most importantly, they are learning that science is fun!
Thanks Megan for contributing a terrific science lesson for kids – be sure to check out some of her other activities:
Pablo Picasso – for kids and
Helping your child ask/answer questions (this one is brilliant!). If you are a blogger and would like to contribute, fill out the form,
become a contributor – we’d love to have you join the Quirky Mommas!
More Kids Activities
What is your favorite activity for teaching kids how objects sink and float? Physics projects like this one are great because they are hands-on, allow for discovery learning, and are just plain fun. If you liked this , you’ll probably enjoy these other great kids activities:
This looks like such a cool science activity! Pinning it to my Preschool Science board. I think this will be a good one to do outside once it’s warm enough for water play.