STEM Challenge

The Problem: The Gingerbread Man is trying to cross the river,

without asking the dangerous fox for help! He needs a raft that
will take him across the river safely and without getting wet. He
must stay dry, otherwise he will get soggy and dissolve!

Your Goal: Using supplies from your STEM equipment table,

build a raft that will float across a tub of water and support a
cut-out of the Gingerbread Man.

Materials Available:

Popsicle sticks Plastic bags Cardboard box

Rubber bands Foil Sticky tape
Plastic cups Pipe cleaners Glue
Masking tape Tissues Egg cartons
Toothpicks Newspaper Sticks

Super Challenge
Can you make the raft move
by itself across the tub
of water?
 Research the Facts - Sink Vs Float

Whether an object sinks or floats depends on two factors:

density and buoyancy. Find the definition for both words.

density:

buoyancy:

Test your materials. Which materials float?

Object Material Floats (yes or no)

 Research the Facts - Waterproof

The raft must be waterproof so that the Gingerbread Man

doesn’t get soggy and dissolve.

What does waterproof mean?

How will you know if your materials are waterproof?

Test your materials. Which materials are waterproof

Waterproof
Object Material
(yes or no)
 Plan and Create

Which materials are you going to use?

• •
• •
• •
• •
• •
• •

Why did you pick these materials?

Draw a labelled diagram of your raft:

 Test It

Once you have attached your Gingerbread Man to your raft,

place the raft in a tub of water and move the raft around.
You might like to take some pictures of the result.

Picture of my raft:

Did your raft float? yes/no

Did the Gingerbread Man stay dry? yes/no

Was your raft waterproof? yes/no

 Reflect and Share

After testing your design, it is important to reflect on

whether or not your design worked..

What would you change with your design and why?

Compare your design to a partner’s. How is your design the

same or different?

Do you think your raft would still float with a real gingerbread
cookie on it? yes/no

Try it! What happened?

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