Holiday Challenge Accepted At Setauket Elementary

From Three Village Schools: Setauket Elementary School third-grade science club members learned about properties of boats and solid structures during a hands-on STEM-based learning challenge.

After learning about the 1620 journey of the Mayflower, the students worked with simple and commonly found household items to create small boats. They used such materials as construction paper, popsicle sticks, tape, paper plates, pipe cleaners and foil. Once designed, the students’ boats were placed in a water bin and
tested to see if they could hold five marbles and sustain ocean winds, which were replicated using a blow-dryer.

During a subsequent meeting, the students worked in small groups to build a sturdy shelter for the pilgrims and tested to see if their creations could withstand the weather elements the new settlers would encounter when they arrived in America. The shelters were required to have a door and a roof, be only two inches taller than the paper pilgrims they were provided and could not be wider than a paper plate. Once constructed, they were tested on how successful they could braven the weather elements using a water bottle, hair dryer and heavy jar of marbles, each respectively representing rain, wind and snow.

Photo courtesy of the Three Village Central School District