COEUR d’ALENE — Junior engineering students made a big splash Monday.

Chris Rogers, a teacher at Woodland Middle School, gave seventh and eighth graders a chance to build boats out of cardboard and duct tape, and put their lessons into a practical project.

Fifty-four students and 31 boats entered in the contest at SafeSplash SwimLabs.

Rogers said he teaches the students about volume, mass and density. Then, they apply the equations to boat designs to determine whether it will float. Teams were allowed one month to build the boats.

“There isn’t really an actual grading policy in place for this either,” Rogers said. “I can’t really make them do too much outside of class times, but they get a ton of extra credit for participating in this.”

Jennifer Jackson, general manager of SafeSplash, said she thinks the creative approach will benefit the students.

“We want to help improve the lives of our community and students,” Jackson said. “This event gives the kids a rewarding chance to put learned skills into a hands-on project.”

Some of the boats made it across the pool, powered by students with paddles. Others capsized along the way, leaving students all wet.

Rogers said the most important part is to see the kids having fun with the project, so he doesn't want grades to impact participation.

The boat races had been held since 2013, so being able to get the project going again was important to Rogers.

“It became a pretty big deal for us,” Rogers said. “At the high point, we had close to 900 people coming to participate in or attend the races.”

“We hope to see that level of growth again,” he added.

One of his former students, Dylan Best, participated in the boat races in 2018. She said the involvement was valuable.

“It was really fun, and it was also a great team-building activity to bring students together,” said Best, who works as a lifeguard at SafeSplash.

Jackson hopes to see students and parents rejuvenate the program.

“Mr. Rogers is just that cool teacher to have,” Jackson said. “He is able to make learning fun and we want our facility to be a home for the community.”

“We are all in to hold the races here moving forward,” she added.

    Seventh graders Cooper J Brandt (front) and Noah M Godzien (back) are all smiles, but they didn't quite make it across the pool as their boat sank.
  

    Seventh graders Crew V Walther (front) and Parker A Sozzoni (back) row across the pool at SafeSplash, competing to try and make the fastest time.