STEM Activity: Sea-ing Your Way Across

Have you ever dreamed of crossing the ocean and exploring the mysteries of the sea? Well, here is your chance! Follow the fun steps below and “sea” if you have what it takes to invent your way across the water while trying not to bump into (or step on) sea life!

Original Source: National Inventors Hall of Fame

Materials Needed

  • Crafting materials
  • Craft paper
  • Die
  • Recyclables
  • Tape (masking or painter’s)
  • Two plastic bags

 

Step-by-Step Instructions:

  1. Find a large open space and create an enclosed shape using tape.
  2. Using craft materials and recyclables from around your home, create ocean animals and plants!
  1. Place them in your enclosed shape.
  1. Lay both plastic bags flat with the blank sides facing up.
  2. Decorate the blank sides of the bags.
  1. Using the handles, take one bag and slip it onto your foot so the decorations are facing up.
  2. Tie the two handles together above your ankle.
  3. Repeat the above steps to properly secure the second bag on your other foot. Unsure if the bag shoes are your scuba style? Try making your own waterproof shoes using other materials from around your home!
  4. Roll the die once and use the guide below to see what each number indicates. This is how you will cross the sea.
    • 1 – Hop
    • 2 – Walk backward
    • 3 – Use one leg
    • 4 – Skip
    • 5 – Dance
    • 6 – Crabwalk
  5. Did you avoid bumping into or stepping on sea life? You get one point! Accidentally stepped on a flipper? Wait for your next turn.
  6. Each time you cross the sea, roll again and try taking a new path. The first player to get 10 points wins! (You can also play on your own and challenge yourself by using a timer!)
  7. Want a bigger challenge? Add some items into your sea that do not belong, like stuffed land animals or plastic items, and then create an invention to lift and clean them out of the sea.

 

What Are We Discovering?

People have always been fascinated with what is hidden beneath the surface of the ocean. National Inventors Hall of Fame® Inductee Harold Froehlich is the inventor of the longest operating deep-sea submersible, Alvin. Owned by the U.S. Navy and operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Alvin took its first dive in 1964. In 1974, Alvin allowed scientists to map the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which helped confirm the theory of plate tectonics and continental drift. In 1977, Alvin took scientists down 9,000 feet off the coast of the Galapagos Islands, where they found aquatic species like the giant tube worm — one of about 300 new species of animals whose discovery was enabled by Alvin. In 1986, Alvin made possible the first pictures of the sunken RMS Titanic. Alvin has also assisted with environmental waste studies and missions.