Ahoy there!!!

STEM RAFT CHALLENGE

You have become stranded on an island with a friend. The only way off the island is by using the
materials you find there to make a raft that will take you back to the mainland.
You need to work in pairs to design and make an emergency rescue raft. You have 60 minutes to
design, make and test your emergency raft.

Design Brief
(What you will need to do and make)
Your mini raft design needs to:
- Be stable on the water
- Carry as much weight as possible without sinking (at least 2 small pebbles)
- Move through the water using a force we have been learning about in science. (Push or pull
etc).
- Travel at least 4m without sinking or tipping over.
- The pebbles need to stay dry whilst they are on the raft
The materials you have available are:
- Any materials from the making table

Investigating
(What you need to do and think about for your design)
You and your partner activity and have 60 minutes to design and make a raft that can travel at least
4m carrying at least 2 small pebbles without tipping over or sinking. We will be testing the rafts at the
end of the lesson.
Design factors to consider:
- How to how the pieces of the raft together?
- How will your raft propel itself/move through the water?
- How big does it need to be?
- How will you make it stable?
- The longer it stays dry and stable the better.

Generating
Consolidate your ideas and work together to build your emergency raft. Don’t forget it need to be
float, be stable on the water, carry the weights and move across the water using a force. Put your
ideas together and design your raft!

Producing
Set to work and go make your raft.

Evaluating
You will be testing your design in the water. Will it survive the journey?
Once you have completed your design and made your model you will need to test your model, make
predictions and record your observations using the same methods we have been practicing in class.
Consider: what materials you used, why you chose these materials and what you would change if to
make it better next time.