Grade seven students from North Battleford competed in a unique new learning exercise Wednesday - boat racing.
These weren't your average boats, you wouldn't find an outboard motor on one and you certainly wouldn't want to take it out on the lake. No, these boats were made out of cardboard, and they were tested out at the Battlefords Co-op Aquatics Centre.
Students from both the Living Sky School Division and the Light of Christ School Division started crafting the cardboard boats in the morning and raced in the afternoon. They were in groups, and were given an hour and a half to complete the project, though they had already created blueprints to guide their projects.
Each group was given one roll of packing tape, two sheets of cardboard, eight metres of string, one paper clip, one small roll of duct tape, two Exacto knives and two pencils.
When it came time to race, students had a variety of different strategies. Some had one person in the boat so it didn't sink, others had multiple riders for more speed when paddling. Most noticeably, some sank, some didn't.
The teachers saw this as a fun, hands-on form of learning and a way to teach students without relying on a textbook.
The idea was developed by Skills Canada, which covered the costs of equipment, lunch and the pool rental.
It wasn't all about fun, there were marks handed out, too. Marks were awarded for sketch innovation, how closely the final product resembled the sketch, quality of construction, team work, safety and cleanliness and visual appeal.
Teachers plan to make this an annual event after seeing how much the children enjoyed the exercise.
