Fairlawn Elementary students design magnet powered boats

As a part of their study of how magnets can be used to move objects without touching them, Jennifer Ingersoll’s second grade students at Fairlawn Elementary School designed, constructed, and raced magnetically powered boats.   After studying the effects of magnets on different materials, the students were asked to draw and label a boat design that could be pulled with a magnetic wand.  Then, the students were provided building materials and were able to test their designs by participating in boat races with their fellow students.