Lynn Camp student build boats as part of S.T.E.M. camp

Approximately 20 Lynn Camp students wrapped up five weeks of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Camp last week by building and testing their own kayak.

Photo by Arthur Canada

Knox Promise Neighborhood School Coordinator Arthur Canada said the students used PVC pipe and tarps to create the kayaks which they took to the pool at the Robert Stivers Aquatic Complex in Barbourville for testing.

Canada said the students came in with the understanding that in order for the boat to float it had to displace more water than displace more water than it weighs.

“To them, it was an almost impossible task,” Canada said.

Working in teams of three or four, the students in grades six, seven and eight, worked from a set of plans and precut pieces, but still had to work to properly assemble the craft in a three-day timeframe.

Canada said it was about more than just learning the science behind boats. It was about the students developing leadership qualities as members of a team.

“We really saw some students that stepped up,” Canada said. “They would get frustrated that something wasn’t working out, and would step up and take charge.”

Canada said of the seven boats that took to the pool, all of them floated.

We did have one flip over,” Canada said.

Canada said 49 students participate in the camp at various points. The goal was to aid students that had fallen behind academically while attending virtual classes to catch up with their peers.

Throughout the camp, students worked on a number of projects including: marble roller coasters, bottle rockets made from two-liter pop bottles, balloon cars and mouse trap cars.

“We were trying to give them something enjoyable and fun,” Canada said.

To help work on the students’ social skills, at the beginning of each day, each students had to introduce themselves to the group, and then would be given a question to answer in front of the group, clearly.

“They are at an age where they need to be heard,” Canada said. “We had kids that had been attending classes virtually all of last year. We had to try to break through that.”

The project was funded by Knox Promise Neighborhood.