Coeur d'Alene middle schoolers conquer cardboard boat challenge

COEUR d'ALENE — The secret to staying afloat in a cardboard boat is duct tape.

A lot of duct tape.

"We went through like nine rolls of duct tape," Woodland Middle School student Ryon Young said Monday evening. "But we patched up all the tiny seals and cracks and everything. I think that helped a lot."

It was a scene of mathematics-fueled maritime mayhem at SafeSplash SwimLabs in Coeur d'Alene, where Woodland Middle School teacher Chris Rogers' seventh and eighth grade students took turns testing the waters with innovative cardboard designs ranging from classic box-shaped boats and star-spangled ships to radiant rainbows and wild watermelons.

Ryon and classmates Keygan Chinchillas and Max Jasmine competed in a seasonally appropriate coffin-shaped boat, made of pumpkin boxes and held together with black duct tape. It took them about six hours to build.

Keygan, who led the paddling from the bow, said their boat did much better than expected.

"The math said we were going to sink but with all the tape, I feel like that gave it extra protection," he said.

"A little bit more resilience," Ryon added.

The project taught the trio about the importance of collaboration.

"We learned that teamwork makes the dream work," Ryon said.

Max also thought the boat would sink but was pleasantly surprised their team avoided capsizing.

"We were absolute alphas and we paddled and it actually floated," he said. "We got second place."

Teams ranged from solo sailors to crews of two or a few.

The project gave students creative opportunities beyond the classroom to experience hands-on lessons about volume, mass and density. They gathered measurements and plugged the numbers into equations that, if their calculations proved correct, would provide information about whether their boats would be ready for the high seas.

Mackenzie Montague spent three hours crafting her rainbow boat based on the book, "A Bad Case of Stripes."

"It's about a girl who doesn't eat her lima beans and turns into stripes, and the only way to fix it is to eat lima beans," Mackenzie said.

She said the races taught her "to move faster," and she doesn't feel her cardboard boat would last on a body of water larger than the SafeSplash pool.

Eighth graders Connor Groat and Mason Traxler were stoked their "American Dream" boat came in second in their round, even after a guest hopped in for a photo and to play a song before the races began.

"It was awesome," Mason said. "We got second place, but it was still really fun. The fact it could hold another grown man was just pretty awesome."

Connor was most pleased the boat floated at all.

"It worked, it worked, it worked, that's all that matters," he said.

His mom, Amanda Groat, said it was fun to watch the action unfold.

"They've been really excited," she said. "It was exciting to see them succeed because they were really worried about it."

    Keygan Chinchillas, front, Max Jasmine, center, and Ryon Young paddle their coffin-shaped boat during Woodland Middle School's cardboard boat races Monday evening at SafeSplash SwimLabs.
  

    Mackenzie Montague ferociously paddles her "Bad Case of Stripes"-themed boat Monday during Woodland Middle School's cardboard boat races.

    "Handpan Man" Ethereal in E jumps in with Connor Groat and Mason Traxler for a photo opportunity Monday at SafeSplash SwimLabs during Woodland Middle School's cardboard boat races.