Cardboard boat races

Posted 5/19/16

“It’s something I saw that I thought would be a good way to challenge my students,” Lensegrav said. “We started doing it, I’d say, 10 years ago, and it teaches them to build a cardboard boat and making the calculations for weight …

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Cardboard boat races

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End of the year tradition tests Powell physics

In what has now become an annual tradition, reaching back to last decade, Powell High School physics teacher Steven Lensegrav held the year-ending cardboard boat races at the Aquatic Center Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s something I saw that I thought would be a good way to challenge my students,” Lensegrav said. “We started doing it, I’d say, 10 years ago, and it teaches them to build a cardboard boat and making the calculations for weight displacement.

“For the flat-bottomed boats, it is a little easier to figure it out,” he added. “Some had more tapered keels, which is more difficult, so they got extra points.”

Points and lessons in applied physics may well have been on the line, but the learning experience overflowed in the fun had by all the participants and those who gathered to watch.

Three boats made it through the course without sinking, with the team of Garrett Musso and Madison Morrow making it to the finish line along with individual boaters Kristian Stenlund and Brett Gilman.

A great way to apply the classroom into the real world, with lessons learned, plenty of fun had, and a fair share of soaked cardboard.

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