Saturday, June 16, 2012

Sink or Float - Pirate Style

Little Mister has recently become fascinated with pirates! Thanks to Veggie Tales Jonah and the Pirates Who Don't do Anything! He found a pirate hat in the thrift store and wore it while we looked around. Every time someone got close to the buggy he said, "Arg... I'm a pirate!" We got many laughs and one strange look! This new pirate fascination got me thinking about boats, which eventually led me around to our investigation today! Yeah, my mind works in strange ways. Don't try to figure it out, just go with it!



Objective- Uses senses to explore the environment (MS Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Scientific Development 3.3.4)

Materials- Large fish tank or pan of water, several different objects (optional: we glued small masts and construction paper flags on our objects)

Procedure-
1. Discuss each object before you place it in the water. (Is it heavy? Is it round? etc...)
2. Place it in the water.
3. Talk about what made it sink or float. (It has holes that let the water in. It is heavy. etc...)


Whether an object sinks or float in a liquid depends mainly on two factors: density and buoyancy. However, at this level, children do not need to explain why objects sink or float. Just make simple observations!

All our pirate ships

the foam shark floats

Bet you've never seen a boat like this before! It sank!



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