Bayport–Blue Point Students Test Handmade ‘Mayflower’ Boats Ahead Of Thanksgiving

BAYPORT, NY — Third graders at Academy Street Elementary took on a Thanksgiving-themed engineering challenge this month, building and racing their own “Mayflower” ships as part of the school’s STEAM Club.

During the club’s November session, students were asked to think like engineers and solve real design problems: how boats float, what makes them move faster, and which materials perform best on water. Their mission was to create a small vessel that could cross a water-filled bin using only “wind” — their own breath — for propulsion.

Students chose from a mix of everyday materials, including egg cartons, cardboard, coffee filters, aluminum cans, popsicle sticks, and rubber bands. Each student drafted a design sketch, named their ship, and predicted how it would perform before the testing began.

Once boats hit the water, students quickly noticed how weight and shape affected speed. Lighter designs tended to travel faster, prompting some students to adjust their ideas for future builds. Classmates compared results and celebrated the boats that skimmed across the surface, school officials said.