The League of Young Inventors Floating Boats

Build, float, refine—boats meet buoyancy

In the Floating Boats Kit, students become marine engineers, exploring buoyancy, gravity, shape and materials as they prototype boats that float and carry weight. This hands-on STEM experience is designed for grades K-3 and brings real science into the water.

With approximately 9 slide-based lessons (10-12 hours of instructional time) this unit aligns to elementary science and engineering standards and comes as a full-class kit. Students observe sinking vs floating scenarios, brainstorm design criteria, build prototypes, collect data (e.g., how many weights can the boat hold before sinking), iterate their design, and finally test in water. They reflect on failures, revise their ideas, and document their engineering journey.

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Onboarding PD Provided

Advanced-Use PD Provided

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Additional Equipment Required

No

Prior Tech Knowledge Necessary

None

Set Sail on Engineering: Floating Boats Kit

The League Floating Boats Kit invites young inventors (grades K-3) to dive into the challenge of keeping boats afloat. A toy inventor’s new boat designs keep sinking, so students step in as engineers and scientists to solve the buoyancy challenge. Students explore how weight distribution, hull shape, materials, balance and force affect floating and sinking. Through guided experiments, they test, redesign, improve—and ultimately present their successful boat designs.

For educators, the kit provides full scaffolding: slide decks, worksheets, teacher guides, embedded video/media, and a hands-on materials set sized for up to 30 students. Whether in a STEM class, makerspace or after-school club, this kit transforms a boat-building activity into a meaningful dive into physical science and engineering design. The League Floating Boats Kit doesn’t just let students build boats— it lets them engineer them, test them, and learn from them.

What’s Included in the Box

  • Slide-based Teacher Presentation Deck (≈ 9 lessons)

  • Standards-alignment documentation for grades K-3

  • Hands-on Materials Kit sized for up to ~30 students (including hull materials, weights/test loads, supports, connectors)

  • Student Worksheets & Build-Log Templates (sketch → test → iterate)

  • Embedded Media Access: video clips, discussion prompts, guided testing

  • Reflection & Team-Presentation Templates

  • Teacher Guide with Facilitation Notes, Differentiation Tips & Assessment Suggestions

  • Storage/Organizer Tray for Materials

Whether you’re enriching a STEM block, enhancing a makerspace, or introducing inquiry-based learning in the elementary classroom, the Floating Boats Kit transforms simple materials into meaningful, standards-aligned exploration. It’s not just about building boats—it’s about building problem solvers. By adding this kit to your curriculum, you empower students to think like real engineers: asking questions, testing ideas, analyzing results, and improving designs. It aligns seamlessly with NGSS standards while nurturing critical thinking, creativity, and teamwork.

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