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For the Juniors: Boats made from different materials

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For the Juniors: Boats made from different materials

SUBJECTS:  Technologies

YEARS:  3–4


See how boats can be made from wood, fibreglass and aluminium.

Watch film of some Aboriginal men making a bark canoe.

See how a special mould is used to make boats made from fibreglass.

Find out why aluminium is a useful metal for making boats.


Things to think about

  1. 1.What materials can be used to make boats? Can you think of three types of materials? Why are those materials used to make boats?
  2. 2.How do Aboriginal peoples build canoes? How do they make their canoe waterproof? Why is fibreglass used to make boats? How is the fibreglass applied to the mould? What metal is the last boat shown made from?
  3. 3.Draw two different boat designs for boats made of wood. One could be the Aboriginal canoe. Show how a fibreglass boat is made. How is the hull (frame, body)made strong? What is added to the boat to make it move? Why is aluminium a good choice for a boat made from metal?
  4. 4.Make your own boat using a wax-coated milk carton. Ask for adult assistance to cut the carton in half. You should end up with a long, thin boat shape. Investigate ways to power your boat using an elastic band as the power source.


Acknowledgements

B/W footage of Indigenous bark canoe building courtesy of The University of Adelaide and South Australian Museum Music by Glyn Lehmann.



Date of broadcast: 7 May 2001


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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