Pinwheels and boat races

Children make paper pinwheels and propel cork boats in a water race using their breath.

Steps

1. Conversation: what wind is and how humans harness it (windmills, sailboats, kites).
2. Children fold a pinwheel from a paper square and secure it to a wooden dowel with a pushpin.
3. They test outside where the breeze spins the wheel fastest.
4. From a wine cork, toothpick, and paper scrap, they craft a mini sailboat.
5. Boat race in a tub of water: children blow their boats across using a straw.

Tip: Replace the sharp pushpin with a round split pin backed by a cork slice for preschoolers.

Materials needed

• Double-sided coloured paper (1 block per 4 children)
• Paper straws (1 pack)