We have a variety of pumpkins within the classroom. We were reading a story that showed some people who had hollowed out large pumpkins and used as boats. Finding this quite fascinating, we decided to find out if pumpkins really did float! We tried a number of different sized ones, to discover that indeed they did float. I then posed the question, that if the pumpkins were relatively heavy, why did they float? On the following day, one student explained that pumpkins floated since they were full of air- his dad told him! I brought in some rocks and chunks of wood that were similar weight to the pumpkins. We then tried to see if they floated. Of course, the rock sank, but much to their surprise, the wood chunk floated! We watched a short youtube video of a pumpkin regatta ( yes, they really do exist!) Our inquiry will continue and we will open the pumpkin, and see if it floats, and what we can do to make it sink.
The original story that sparked our inquiry.
Comparing the weight of a pumpkin to that of a chunk of wood.
Hmmm...it floats!
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