STEM Pirate Ship Engineering Challenge
Students use the engineering design process to design and build a sailboat to carry a mass across a set distance. Students will also learn about buoyancy and surface area as well as the forces acting on the boat.
Grades: K - 5th; Homeschool
Teaching Duration: 3 hours
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lesson overview
STEM Pirate Ship Engineering Activity Description
Updated to include editable STEM journals, teacher slides, and instructional videos!
Engineering Challenge: Students use the engineering design process to design and build a sailboat to carry a mass across a set distance. Students will also learn about buoyancy and surface area as well as the forces acting on the boat.
The Pirate Ship STEM activity is a great way to incorporate the engineering design process into your classroom or afterschool program! Many are familiar with the boat buoyancy challenge, and this takes it one step further by adding a sail! Now students must build a boat to hold a specific weight as well as incorporate aerodynamic principals to make it move. This is also a great activity for Thanksgiving by connecting the Sailboat Challenge to the voyage of the Mayflower! Read more about this challenge here.
This hands-on activity is an engaging design challenge that allows students to work in teams, apply the engineering design process, and connect math topics to real-world applications. As a student-driven assignment, the purpose of the teacher is to act as a facilitator. You will provide the structure to the project, but students will take an active role in designing and building their sailboats. Our students have loved this activity, and we know yours will too!
As with many STEM activities that are student-driven, this challenge can be tailored to students of various skill levels and abilities. We have used this challenge from elementary through high school levels with great success.
Included in this product:
Instructional video led by an engineer with science and career connections
Detailed teachers guide with links to resources
Teacher Slides
Photos of student examples
Student handouts to guide them through the design process
Editable Google Slides STEM journal for distance learning
STEM Career Connection on Marine Engineering & Naval Architecture
Student recording sheet for each step of the process
Math connection problems including angles, ratios, geometry, and graphing
Looking for more STEM lessons? Find the Vivify resource guide here: bit.ly/VivifyResourceGuide
