JEC 5B has been hard at work building their own Mayflower boats and mishoons for our first STEM challenge in their designs and variables unit. They began their challenge by learning a bit of history behind the Mayflower and exploring how a mishoon is crafted. Then, they delved into the science of why heavy boats float as opposed to sinking. They learned about the ideas of displacement and buoyancy and how they interact. They discussed the idea of engineers and how they use the design cycle to help solve problems. Then they began to build boats following the guidelines and constraints of the challenge. Each boat building crew was given the same materials of popsicle sticks, straws and tin foil sheets and tasked with building a seaworthy boat that could carry as many passengers as possible safely across the ocean. The crews thought about the materials they were given and experimented with the best way to use the materials to create a successful boat taking into account the ideas they have explored.