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Make and play with a plastic bottle submarine!Learn more about water and the amazing creatures that live under the sea with the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/professions-marine-biologist-project-kit/5457" target="_self">Marine Biologist Starter Kit </a>from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Using the push pin, make a hole in the center of the bottom of the bottle. 

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Straighten one paper clip and push it through the hole. Then, using the pencil, bend the end of the paper clip inside the bottle so that it forms a hook (you may need an adult to assist you). Secure the end of the paper clip on the outside of the bottle.&nbsp;

To secure the end of the paper clip, we made a second hole in the bottom of the bottle and pushed the paper clip back into the bottle.

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Draw a four blade propeller onto a piece of paper and cut it out. This will be your template.

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Using your template, trace the propeller onto the yogurt container lid. 

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Use the heat gun to make the plastic more pliable. Then, bend each blade of the propeller so that the pointy side is slightly raised.

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Using the push pin, make a hole in the center of the propeller and the center of the bottle cap. 

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Straighten the second paper clip except for one hook. Then, push it through the hole in the cap so that the hook is on the underside of the cap.

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Hook one end of a rubber band onto it and hook the other end of the rubber band onto the hook inside the bottle. Then, close the cap.

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Slide the propeller onto the paper clip so that it is lies flush with the top of the bottle. Then, bend the paper clip to secure it in place.

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Hot glue the pennies to either end of the popsicle stick. 

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Using the last 2 rubber bands, strap the popsicle stick to the bottle near the bottom. This will be your submarine’s fins.
 
Now you are ready to experiment with your submarine! Fill the basin with water, wind up your submarine, place it in the water, and let it go! Allowing more or less water into the bottle will determine whether your submarine floats to the top of the tub or sinks to the bottom. Try to get it to float in the middle of the tub!

Submarines travel underwater thanks to two basic principles. First, the submarine needs to be able to control its buoyancy, or how much it floats (or sinks) in the water. Submarines can change their buoyancy using ballast tanks, which can be filled with air and water in different ratios. If there's a lot of water in the ballast tanks, the submarine will sink, while if there's a lot of air in the ballast tanks, the submarine will rise. Try playing around with the amount of water versus air in your water bottle submarine — a certain amount should give your sub the right buoyancy to float just beneath the surface of the water. The second principle of submarine travel rests on Newton's third law, which states that for every action, there is a reaction. In the case of submarines, a propellor with angled blades spins, pushing water behind the submarine (the action). In response to this backwards movement of water, the submarine is pushed forwards (the reaction). The propellor on your submarine is spun by a twisted rubber band. The more that the rubber band is twisted, the more the rubber band will try to untwist and relax into its original shape. When you let go, this untwisting spins the propellor, pushing water back and driving the submarine forwards. To stay upright while moving around underwater, submarines also use a variety of fins, like the one on your water bottle submarine. Real submarines can move their fins around, which, along with the ballast tanks and propellor, can enable motion in nearly any direction.

plastic bottle (small, with cap)

push pin

paper clips (2)

rubber bands (3)

pencil

popsicle stick

pennies

hot glue / hot glue gun

container lid

Scissors

heat gun (or candle)

Pliers

water

Paper

Markers

Submarine

pretend play

Everything becomes a boat to my two-year-old. This was a fun surprise for him and the fact that they actually floated got my five-year-old pretty impressed as well!

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Hot glue is a necessity for this craft, so it is definitely an older child craft or grown-up assisted craft.

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I filled the walnut shells with hot glue and let it dry just a bit before adding the pick.

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Once you add the pick it needs to be held for a bit so it stays in the center, but hot glue does dry fast.

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Once completely dry it was time for a test drive. I closed my eyes as my children added our pirate ships to a large bowl of water.....they float! Thank goodness for that.

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Ready for the race? Create your own ice boat and be the first to cross the finish line! 

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Design your own boat flags by decorating sticky notes and taping them to a straw (cut to length). 

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Fill containers with water and put them in the freezer. Shallow containers (left) were easier to freeze and easier to blow toward the finish line. After a few hours, when the ice is slushy or partly frozen on the top, stick the straw flags into the container. Let them freeze the rest of the way. 

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After the water is completely frozen, put the bottom of the container under running water to loosen the ice boats. Put them in a baby pool, bath tub, or sand table filled with water for a race. 

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On your mark. Get set. Go! Blow the sails with a straw and get your boat to cross the finish line. 

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After a couple of races with the boats (the thinner ice boat always won), they had fun playing with and figuring out how to break the big hunks of ice. 

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Ice Boat Race

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easy experiment

This foam sailboat craft is one of the DIY projects for kids that combines fun and science. This cute, foam sailboat craft isn’t just a fun toy, it’s also a great way to introduce an experiment that even very young children can participate in. This sailboat has a rudder that can be place in the three positions. Each position will steer the boat in a different direction. Before you start, ask your child what direction he or she thinks the boat will go and write it down. After you try it, compare what happened with what you predicted. This can lead to some fun discussions of why the prediction and result matched, or didn’t!

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Gather the materials you need to make your foam sailboat craft. 

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First, we made our boat. I just traced a boat shape onto the foam, and then had my son do the cutting. Once we had the basic shape, I cut a slit in the middle for the sail. This can be done with scissors, but might be a little easier with a craft knife. Obviously, this is a grownup task! Finally, you need to cut slits in the back for the rudder. This is also best done by a grownup because you will want to be fairly precise. Start by cutting one slit perpendicular to the back of the boat. That slit will hold the rudder straight. Then, cut a second slit at an angle. That slit will hold the rudder angled to one side. Finally, cut a third slit to hold the rudder at an angle on the other side.

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For the rudder, you can use any thin piece of plastic. We found a plastic lid in the recycling bin. Cut out a small rectangle.

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To make your sail, cut two slits in a piece of stiff paper. We used a piece of colorful cardstock, which looked really nice, but regular printer paper will work as well. Then, poke the craft stick through the two slits. This will be your mast.

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Stick the craft stick into the slit in the middle of the boat. You’re ready to sail!

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The best place to sail your boat and test out the rudder is a tub of calm water. Of course, it’s fun to play with as a bath toy as well. It’s just that the splashing will interfere with the rudder action. Start with the rudder in the middle position and have your child blow into the sail to move the boat forward. Once you get the hang of that, trying moving the rudder to one of the side slits. Which way does the boat turn? Have fun sailing your boat!

When you blow into the sail, the rudder smacks into the water as the boat moves through it. The water pushes against the rudder, but if the rudder is turned to one side, the water doesn’t push evening. One side of the rudder gets a bigger push from the water than the other, and the boat turns. The rudder on a real boat works the same way — just much bigger!

4 at-home boat projects for kids

Screen-free fun!