Buoyancy is the power of supporting a body so that it floats! Ships or boats that have a large, flat shape with high sides allows the weight to be evenly distributed. Kiddieland boats at the museum are built with flat bottoms and high sides to allow more guests to ride without sinking!

Thanks so much for participating in this week's STEM activity on buoyancy! We hope to see you next week!  

Supplies needed:
- Aluminum foil
- Scissors
- A tub of water
- A ruler
- Coins or weights

Directions:
- Fill your tub with water
- Cut a piece of the aluminum foil 5 inches long
- Make a boat out of the foil that is able to float in water and hold cargo
- Put your aluminum boat in the water. If it doesn't float right away, try a different style of boat!
- Once your boat is floating, begin to put the coins or weights in the boat one at a time until it sinks.
How many could your boat hold? Do you think a different style of boat could hold more weight?  

Bridges can hold more weight when they have extra support or ridges. Bridges that are flat or thin provide less support and are weaker. We see this when we had paper or tape to our first bridge!

Thank you so much for joining us this week as we engineered our own bridges! ​We hope to see you back here next week for another STEM activity!

Supplies Needed:
- Construction paper
- 2 cups
- Pennies (works best with at least 20)
- Tape
- Scissors

Directions:
- Place the 2 cups in front of you on a flat surface. (Leave a space in between the cups.)
- Put 1 piece of construction paper on top of the cups to connect them.
- Place as many pennies as you can on top of the paper before it collapses. (See if you can get to 20!)
- Make changes to your bridge to try and get it to hold more pennies than before.
How many pennies were you able to get on your bridge without it breaking? What does your bridge look like now?

Supplies Needed:
- 2 paper plates with a Lip
- A marble
- Tape
- Scissors

Directions:
- Place the plate on a flat surface
- Place the marble in the plate and push it so it goes around the plate completely
- Use the scissors to cut out 1/4 of the plate (It should look kind of like Pac-Man!)
- Use the tape to predict where the marble will go 
- Push the marble in the plate again and see what happens
Did your marble go where you thought it was going to? 

Centripetal Force is when other forces push an object towards the center of the circle, making it go around. In this activity, we are using force to push the marble around the plate! 

I hope you had fun completing this cool activity! Join us next week for another STEM activity!

Force is what is used to move an object. Forces are either a push or a pull. In this activity, we are using force to move the cotton ball and the marble! The ball is moved in different directions by changes in the direction of the force.

I hope you had fun completing this fun and moving activity! Join us next week for another STEM activity! 

Supplies needed:
- A straw
- A cotton ball
- A marble
- Tape
- Scissors (as needed)

Directions:
- Place the ball on a horizontal surface
- Place the straw in your mouth and aim it at the ball
- Blow through the straw in the direction of the ball
- Repeat these steps for the marble
- Use 3 to 5 pieces of tape to make a pattern on the surface (zig zag works best)
- Repeat the first steps while trying to keep the ball away from the tape.
​Were you able to do it? Was it easier using the cotton ball or the marble?