Foil Tray Boats

What you need

• foil trays, plastic tubs and a juice carton
• masking tape
• a washing-up bowl of water
• small toys as passengers, each too big to fit through a toilet roll tube
• scrap paper for sails

How to do it

1. Put the bowl of water on the patio, or on a mat indoors, and spread the trays, tubs and carton beside it.
2. Ask your child which one they think will make the best boat, and let them tape on a paper sail if they want one.
3. Float the boat, then add passengers one at a time, counting as they go, until it sinks.
4. Build another boat from a different tub and see which one carries the most.

Why it matters

Building a boat and loading it until it sinks is a test they design themselves, with a count at the end to say which boat won.

What they're learning

Building with tape

Joining a sail or a second tray on so it holds in the water.

Counting passengers

One number per toy, up to the one that sinks it.

Testing an idea

Choosing a tub, trying it, and changing the plan.

What to look for

Notice them choosing a different tub for the next boat because of what happened to the last one.

A tip

Stay beside the bowl the whole time, however shallow the water, and tip it away when you finish. Check every passenger is too big to fit through a toilet roll tube.

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