How to Design a Barge Out of Straws & Pennies

Create a floating boat from straws.

Barges are large, flat ships that carry cargo. Children can create an educational craft that involves fashioning drinking straws into a barge that carry pennies for cargo. Several children can compete with each other to create a barge that is capable of holding more pennies than any other. Many classrooms use these experiments to teach science lessons. Experiment with materials and sizes to find the most effective variation.

Things You'll Need

• Flexible plastic straws
• Tape
• Scissors
• Clay
• Pennies

Instructions

1. Set four flexible straws into a square shape. Connect the ends together by pushing the bendable end of one straw over another straw's straight end, and continue with the rest of the ends to create a square shape. Repeat to create three squares.

2. Stack the squares and wrap tape around the middle of each edge. Overlap the tape on the top edge of the assembly.

3. Create the front of the ship by connecting three straws in a triangle shape. Do this three times. Stack the three triangles together and tape them in place on one side of the square. Wrap the tape around the center of one side of the triangle and the center of the squares, overlapping the tape on the top side.

4. Lay straws across the top of the assembly to measure how many will be required to span the project's width. Remove these straws and connect them with a second straw. Place these straws over the top of the project and tape them in place.

5. Turn the project over and trace the shape of the hull onto the straws that hang over it. Cut the straws to along the drawn line. Leave some overlap if necessary, but do not pierce the straws of the hull.

6. Put a tiny amount of clay in the end of each straw in the platform to make it watertight.

7. Repeat Steps 4 to 6 to enclose the bottom of the boat.

8. Stack pennies on the top of the barge and see how many it can hold without tipping or sinking. Be sure to evenly distribute the weight.

Tips & Warnings

• Line the inside of the platforms with aluminum foil to help keep the water out of the center.

• If the clay is not used to plug the ends of the straws, the platforms of the barge will eventually fill with water and cause the barge to sink.

References

• Camosun College: Straw Shapes
• Teacher's Domain: A Boat that Floats
• A Trad Boat Special: Building a Model Thames Barge