Engineering: Designing A Boat That Will Float And Predicting How Much Cargo It Can Hold

The sixth graders had a challenge a few weeks ago.  They were told to build a boat out of aluminum foil and they had to predict exactly how many pennies it would hold.  Needless to say, none of them had any idea of how to make such a prediction.  Now, after learning a lot about density and why things float, they are attempting the challenge again, this time using their math and science knowledge.  Here they are calculating and constructing.