Art Project #25: Making Our Own Rafts

We had so much fun over the winter making our own sleds and I thought back then that it would be fun to make our own floats this summer.  I figured it would be a fun hands- on science lesson.  I wasn't really thinking of the art of the design until one of the boys pointed out that it could be part of our 100 Days of Art Challenge too.

When I realized we were already half way through July I decided it was time to put that plan into action.

I told the boys they'd be designing their own float using pool noodles, zip ties, string, bubble wrap and anything else they thought they might need.  By the time we ended we had added duct tape and an old beach towel to our list.

I allowed them to decide how many noodles they needed and we took a trip to the dollar store to stock up on supplies.

They each had their own ideas and a few times we had to modify them; like when the noodles kept splitting in half when we tried to zip tie them together end to end to make a circle or when we found that the zip ties were a bit painful to lie on.

They were all so serious and involved designing their float just the way they pictured.  It was great!  

Evan was the first one done and was eager to test out his float.

His completed design 

He sunk a bit and had a hard time getting balanced 

But ultimately he did get it to help him float along in the water 

Unfortunately his noodle ave way to the pressure of the zip ties and snapped open.
So of course Evan used that opportunity to pretend it was a bow with an
invisible quiver of arrows instead. 

Ian ended up using the most noodles of everyone and created a large float.  He quickly found that without cross pieces the noodle all bunched up and didn't work; so he worked a bit longer and perfected his design.  He also decided that a towel would help protect him from the pointy zip tie ends that were left after he had trimmed them.

Here he's settling his first design attempt into the water

And it failed! 

Design attempt number two; complete with outriggers & towel 

It worked like a charm! 

Alec took the longest to think through his project.  He had so many ideas and had a hard time narrowing down what he wanted to do. He ended up using the widest variety of supplies; pool noodles, zip ties, string, duct tape and bubble wrap!  He finally had a float that was unique and to his liking. 

His completed design 

It worked and held together rather well too!  

 

Others in this series: 

Project 1: Painting with Hexbugs

Project 2: Tissue paper flowers

Project 3: Star Wars Crafts

Project 4: Watercolor compass circles

Project 5: Floral pens

Project 6: Watercolor outlines

Project 7: Scratch art jellyfish

Project 8: Oil pastel flowers
Project 9: Fingerprint dandelions 
Project 10: Beaded Sun Catchers
Project 11: Bird crafts and snacks
Project 12: Symmetrical, color mixing, butterflies

Project 13: Water gun art

Project 14: Watercolor Kits

Project 15: Dragonfly Silhouettes 

Project 16: Painting pet rocks 

Project 17: Spray Paint Resist

Project 18: Water bottle windsock

Project 19: Stained glass made easy crafting kit 

Project 20: Tin can windsock 

Project 21: Firework glue art
Project 22: Qixel art kit

Project 23: Makit Bakit Kits 
Project 24: Wood burning cutting board

Project 25: Making our own rafts 

Project 26: Spray Painted Canvas

Project 27: Paper bowl jellyfish 

Project 28: Tin Foil Art

Project 29: Oil Pastel Bubbles 

Project 30: Chalk Pastel painting 

Project 31: Washi Tape Votive holders 

Project 32: Drip Painted Pots

Project 33: Sun Art 

Project 34: Tissue paper transfer 

Project 35: Stained Glass dragonfly

Project 36: Art Museum field trip. 

Project 37: Taking a Family Art Class

Project 38: Painting Minecraft T-Shirts

Project 39: Painting Pikachu 

Project 40: How to Draw Books

Project 41: Wax resist Watercolors

Project 42: Splatter Paint Canvas

Project 43: Fine line fall leaves 

Project 44: Fairy Village field trip

Project 45: Oil Pastel Resist Leaves

Project 46: Tissue Paper Leaf Art

Project 47: Bat Silhouette Painting 

Project 48: Beginner Photography

Project 49: Making Harry Potter Wands

Project 50: Drawing Cat Faces 

Project 51: Making Homemade cards

Project 52:  Learning the Art of Zentangle

Project 53: 3-D printing 

Project 54: Gingerbread Train

Project 55: Paint Swirled Ornaments 

Project 56: Loom band ornaments and bracelets 

Project 57: Candy trees 

Project 58: Strand of light chalk drawings

Projects 59-64: Christmas Crafting Kits from Oriental Trading

Project 65: Painting Ceramic Village Pieces 

Project 66: Washi Tape Cookie Cutter Ornaments
Project 67: Learning Origami 
Project 68: Art Books and Artist Study
Project 69: Playing Go Fish Art
Project 70: Edible Chocolate Art
Project 71: Geometric Hearts 
Project 72: Marble Swirled Hearts
Project 73: Solid Tempera Paint Drawings
Project 74: Qixels 3-D Maker
Project 75: Making Cupcakes
Project 76: Window Marker Art
Project 77: Shamrock Zentangles on Scratch Paper
Project 78: Painted Pandas 
Project 79: Minecraft Digital Art
Project 80: Charcoal Drawings
Project 81: Chalk Pastel Lighthouse Drawings
Project 82: Dying Easter Eggs With Bleeding Tissue Paper
Project 83: Painting Pottery
Project 84: Drawing En Plein Air
Project 85: African Savannah Paintings
Project 86: Woven CD Garden Decoration
Project 87: Working with Clay
Project 88: Art Lessons with Art Academy
Project 89: Melted Bead Wind Chimes
Project 90: Perler Bead Projects
Project 91: Ivory Soap Carvings
Project 92: Ice Cube Tie Dye
Project 93: String Art
Project 94: Multimedia Ocean Paintings 
Project 95: Balloon Splatter Painting
Project 96: Making Mosaic Stepping Stones
Project 97: Glass Bead and Glue Sun Catchers 
Project 98: Coloring Book Art
Project 99: Metal Stamped Bookmarks

Project 100: Water Balloon Art