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Description

Scouting Science - Will tick off the first 2 parts of the Science badge for Scouts (Scouting Science and Task). The idea of the activity is to explain how a boat displaces water and for the scouts to then create a simple boat using tinfoil to experiment with different designs.

Resources

The following are per-patrol resources (6-8 YP)

For the leader demonstration
- Any item that will displace water (an IKEA plastic cup is ideal)

For the scouts experiment
- 0.5m of Tin Foil
- Bowl of water (Ideally clear/see-through)
- Pen to mark water level
- Weights to put into the boat (small stones, etc)

Instructions

Activity 1: Understanding Displacement & Buoyancy

Prediction/Observation and Demonstration of Water Displacement:

- Show the scouts a bowl of water and an object (e.g., an IKEA cup).
- Ask them to predict what will happen when the cup is placed in the water.
- Place the cup gently on the surface and observe how it floats.
- Slowly push the cup further into the water and ask them to observe what happens to the water level.
- Explain that the water is not disappearing—it is being pushed out of the way (displaced).
- Highlight that this displaced water pushes back on the cup, creating an upward force called buoyancy.

Activity 2: Building a Stable Boat - Challenge:

- Provide each scout (or group) with a sheet of tin foil.
- Ask them to design and build a stable boat that can float on the water.
- Once their boats successfully float, gradually add small stones (or another weight) to test how much they can hold before sinking. (Encourage them to record the number of stones their boat holds before it sinks.)

Design Improvement (Extension):

Optionally, you can challenge the scouts to refine their designs to hold even more weight.

Tags

• science
• science badge
• science experiments
• scientist
• scientist badge
• water

Badge Links

• Scientist - Scouting Science
• Scientist - Task