Floating Foil Boat Experiment

Introduce children to floating and sinking with this easy science experiment. Kids will love designing and making tin foil boats and testing how well they float. They can investigate how many gems each boat can hold before it starts to sink, maybe even have a little competition. Even the youngest of scientists will enjoy this fun challenge.

This weeks book for the virtual book club for kids is 'Toy Boat' by Randall de Save. Scroll down for more boat themed activity ideas and a video of the story.

Take a look at our other book activities or at our clay boats and underwater craft.

MORE science experiments for kids

You will need:

tin foil

glass gems (alternatively you could use pennies or compare bears)

water tray

Foil Boat Experiment

Take a piece of tin foil and mould it into a boat shape. Put the tin foil boat into a tray of water and see how many gems the boat can hold before it starts to sink.

Experiment with different shaped boats. Do some shapes float better than others? Do larger boats hold more gems before they sink? Does having tall sides help or are shorter sides better?

This is a great challenge for children of all ages. Younger children will love making and playing with the foil boats as they investigate floating and sinking and older children can spend time perfecting their designs so that their boats hold more gems.