The First Annual Regatta In Hermosa Beach |
"A Regatta? What's that?" asked the fourth grade students at Hermosa Valley School. "Well" explains Mrs. Shute "We are going to incorporate everything you have been learning about in math, science, history, and language arts to build a Pond Racer." Aero Scientific developed a new product called the Pond Racer , which is a rubber band powered boat kit. Luc Bosch, the president, donated 100 Pond Racers for our fourth grade students to integrate into their studies. So what does a fourth grade student study? History - the explorers, ships, galleons, geography, and how these ships were dependent on the weather and a navigator to sail. Math - area, measurement, and graphing. Science - plants, volume, action/reaction. Language Arts - written reports, oral communication, and definitions of terms. So how does all this relate to building and racing a boat? Plenty. Luc went to each fourth grade class and had students discuss hydrodynamics, Newton's First Law, area of an object, properties of wood, he even threw in a little geography lesson since he's originally from Luxembourg. Students learned about water resistance, drag, and where Balsa wood grows. They also learned that building a pond racer was going to take a little problem solving on their part.
Each student was given a Pond Racer kit to take home and build. The race was set for Friday March 14th. The goal was to team up with another student, design a boat that would travel as fast as possible across a pond and back. Another problem was finding a pond for the races. Fortunately, our school does have a bowl area, which is similar to a mini amphitheater. We plugged up the drain and started filling this 40 X 40 foot area at 7:00 am Friday morning. We soon realized that we were getting nowhere fast. We called the Hermosa Beach Fire Department and asked them to please help. Thanks to the HBFD we created our pond on time.
The races start as one student stands at the start line with both boats on the ground, the other at the halfway point. The objective was to pick up the boat at the sound of the whistle, wind the prop enough times so it would reach your teammate. As soon as the first boat went in the water, the starter begins to wind up his partner's boat. Meanwhile, there was a lot of cheering from the crowd. Some boats made a U-turn, someone wasn't paying attention when the rudder was discussed. Still others headed for a collision course. Some traveled straight and lost their steam right in the middle of the pond. However, most made it across to the other teammate. Once the boat reached the other side, it was turned around and sent back.
All 100 students raced, and the winners went on. The finalists were ready to begin. The crowd was silent. Each student had to start with their hands in the air. The whistle was blown and the race was on. The race was close, but Tyler Bell and John Mangiagli took first place, Hailey Hollander and Samantha Holman, came in second. Prizes were donated by Aero Scientific for first and second place teams.
Winners Aero Scientific also donated Catamaran kits for the 8th grade students to build. As the fourth grade students finished the eigth grade students stepped up to the starting line. Students worked in teams of four. The Catamaran had two props and were twice as fast. The goal for this race was to have the boat travel across and back two times. Luc challenged the winning team to a race. Needless to say, it was close but, somehow the Hermosa boys team managed to find their way to the finish line first. The students had a great day of learning, not only the thrill of victory but the agony of defeat.
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