Sink & Float

This seems to be the time of year when students at The Montessori School of the Berkshires are trying out all sorts of science activities.  Recent favorites are lessons that classify objects according to different properties.

To experience how mass and shape affect an object's ability to float or sink, we provide a tray, mat, pitcher, small basin, drying cloth, container of objects, and two laminated labels that say "sink" and "float."

 

After filing the pitcher with water and pouring water into the small basin, the child begins to test the objects.  

After placing a object into the basin and observing what happens, the child dries the object with the cloth and places it under the appropriate label.

We regularly rotate objects so there is a mix of natural and human-made items.

To read more about the science behind this activity, as well as other extensions, visit: 

http://www.brainpopjr.com/science/forces/sinkorfloat/grownups.weml .

Meagan Ledendecker is the Director of Education at The Montessori School of the Berkshires in Lenox, Massachusetts.