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Making Bathtub Boats

If possible, talk with your child about other activities with sinking and floating and what items are "floaters." Collect some of these items, including small pieces of wood, and invite your child to experiment with making boats in the bathtub.

Extensions to this activity are limitless. Provide glue and invite your child to construct some small boats using the same materials. Try them out in the tub once the glue is dry. Or, try making boats using only aluminum foil. What shapes of foil work best?

Try testing the boats by adding pennies on top of them one at a time. How many pennies can they hold before they sink?

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Bunny Balance

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Making Things Float & Sink, by Gary Gibson.

Who Sank the Boat? , by Pamela Allen.