The engineering task was to create a sail that would move a boat across a string track. She gave them some options for the type of paper that could be used to make the sail. Children could choose either a 3X5 index card or plain copy paper in the same size. They were allowed to leave them in the original shape or cut them to any other shape or size. They had to attach the sail to a straw and connect it to the "boat"-a styrofoam tray-with clay and/or tape.
Once the sails were designed and boats were built, everyone gathered to see the sails and predict which designs were likely to move the boats.
(Hint: It had as much to do with the size and shape of the sail as it did the rigidity of the mast. The boats that made it all the way across the track had sails securely attached to the boat with a sail that did NOT bend in the wind. The masts that bent in the wind allowed the wind to pass over the sail rather than "catch" the wind in order to move the boat.)
