If you were given three sheets of cardboard, an Exacto knife and duct tape, what could you make in three hours?
Well, a group of Grade 8, 9 and 10 students from MacNeill secondary are tasked — every year for the last decade or so — with designing and building a three-person boat that doesn’t sink and can be raced, with paddles, the length of a swimming pool.
The “Boat Races,” as it’s called, being held next Wednesday at Watermania, is all part of the school’s Incentive Outdoor Academy program and is, according to one of the teachers involved, conducted in the “spirit of the new curriculum.”
“They learn about math and science, teamwork, communication and problem-solving,” said Claire Gilchrist, who also teaches French at the school near No. 4 Road and Granville Avenue.
“They just have two classes on this, so they can discuss their plans and think about their designs.
“They then bring their own designs in on the day of the race and choose which design, within their teams of three, is going to work best.
“A lot of it is done on the fly and they often find out at the last minute that the cardboard isn’t bending the way they want it.”
Each of the 24 teams, explained Gilchrist, consists of one student from each of the three participating grades.
“It’s been going for more than a decade; the program itself has been running for almost 30 years,” she added.
“Within the older curriculum, each subject is distinct; with the new one, it’s very much cross-curricular, with a big emphasis on group work, fulfilling real world problems.”
The teachers also get involved, said Gilchrist, and design their own boat.
“We often lose, but everyone has a lot of fun watching. We usually make it through without sinking, even though there are three adults in our boat,” she said.
There’s also a little fundraising element to the Boat Races, with students gathering donations from friends and family and proceeds — breaching the $10,000 mark over the last decade — going to BC Children’s Hospital.
