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In this activity, learners are challenged to design a planktonic organism that will neither float like a cork nor sink like a stone.

In this activity, learners explore and compare the buoyant properties of materials found in nature and in human-made materials.

In an investigation called "Shape It!" learners craft tiny boats out of clay, set them afloat on water and then add weight loads to them, in order to explore: how objects stay afloat in water; what th

In this investigation, learners explore the force known as buoyancy by placing various objects into water and observing how they behave (for example, which sink more quickly, which float, how much wat

In this chemistry activity, learners use spaghetti to explore density and chemical reactions.

In this activity, learners create a model of a hot air balloon using tissue paper and a hairdryer. Educators can use this activity to introduce learners to density and its role in why things float.

Learners create three solutions with different levels of salinity. They compare the density of these solutions by coloring them and layering them in a clear plastic cup and in a soda bottle.

In this two-part activity, learners investigate buoyancy, density and surface area as well as biodiversity and the relationship between the structure and function of organisms.

In this activity, learners explore how engineering has impacted the manufacturing of canoes over time, including the development of new, durable, and lighter materials.

In this experiment, learners float colored ice cubes in hot and cold water.

In this activity learners explore surface tension. Why are certain objects able to float on the surface of water and how do detergents break the surface tension of water?

In this design challenge activity, learners build a boat that can hold 25 pennies (or 15 one inch metal washers) for at least ten seconds before sinking.

Learners act as engineers and design mini submarines that move in the water like real submarines.

In this activity, learners watch a figure "magically" float up through the air.

In this chemistry activity (on page 2 of the PDF), learners make a layered drink with liquids of different densities.

Learners assemble a hot-air balloon from tissue paper. The heated air (from a heat gun) inside the balloon is less dense than the surrounding air and causes the balloon to float.

What keeps bubbles and other things, like airplanes, floating or flying in the air?

In this outdoor activity, learners simulate an oil spill using popcorn (both oil and popcorn float on water), and estimate the spill's impact on the environment.

Using a vertical wind tube and using simple materials, individuals and groups attempt to design a "satellite" that floats for at least 5 seconds.

Learners observe a tank of water containing cans of diet and regular sodas. The diet sodas float and the regular sodas sink. All the cans contain the same amount of liquid and the same amount of air.