Lesson in making boats 'sticks' with students

By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 3, 2010

TAMPA - Independent Day School fifth-graders set sail to middle school today at the Avila Country Club pool.

Forty-nine students designed and built boats from cardboard and more than 150 rolls of duct tape this week in their final elementary school assignment before classes let out for the summer. They used skills they learned in math and science to figure out what size and shape of boat would hold two children and cross the pool without sinking.

They launched large pontoon-style boats, floating on cardboard tubes, silvery kayak-style crafts and narrow boxes with pointed bows. Students wore T-shirts with their team name and cheered from the sidelines as the boats wobbled, tipped and occasionally coasted.

"It's not sinking! It's really weird," said 11-year-old Leonel Ochoa, as his boat cruised to the opposite end of the pool. "I thought it was going to sink."

A few capsized. The "Enola Gay" crumbled as it took on too much water, but Jeff Germain, 12, gave a victorious thumbs up as he treaded water. "Abandon ship," 11-year-old Gabriel Paggio yelled when it became apparent "Skittles" wasn't going to make it. Adam Shaike, 11, pointed out that his boat – the unfortunately named "Titanic" – didn't sink, it tipped.

In the end, the compact "Captain Duck," with a rubber duck duct-taped to the bow, had the best time of the competitors.

"We built it really good," said 11-year-old Connor Brown.

The secret? Alex Wood, 11, chalked it up to materials.

"We put duct tape on it two times," she said, "and we had really strong cardboard."

Reporter Courtney Cairns Pastor can be reached at (727) 451-2343.

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