Science Club Challenges Flyers to Build “Poolworthy” Vessels Using Physics & Creativity
By Sean Atkinson ‘24
The Chaminade High School Science Club set sail for its Cardboard Boat Regatta on Wednesday, March 22nd. The regatta called for a combination of efficiency and artistry, with guaranteed fun for all who participated.
The teams were given simple instructions: build a boat entirely out of cardboard and duct tape, and make sure it can hold its team members across the 25 yards of the Chaminade pool. Science Club members timed and measured the teams’ progress to determine who would earn the various prizes.
Each team consisted of two to three people, and they worked together to build one boat per team. Mr. Ahmed Sarhan, the Science Club moderator, reported, “There were six teams who all put in a courageous amount of effort, hard work, and determination to vie for the first-place prize.”
There were six prizes for the teams to earn: 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place, the Team Spirit Award, the Van Gogh Award (Most Creative Boat), and the Titanic Award (Most Spectacular Sinking). As an added incentive, winners also received gift cards to stores such as Amazon, Domino’s, and Starbucks. It is safe to say that all participants went home happy after a memorable experience with the Science Club.
The winners were as follows: 1st—Dylan Boutin ’24 and Quentin Castellano ’24; 2nd—Adrien Panilla ’25, Chris Perez ’25, and Neil Kalipersad ’25; 3rd—Michael Martelli ’26, Peter Mileo ’26, and Mike Hanna ’26.
Castellano and Boutin won by using concepts from physics to calculate the efficacy of their boat, ensuring that the vessel could hold them and that they could make it all the way across the 25 yards.
Additionally, the Team Spirit Award went to Rylie Mascolo ’25, Ryan Aba Ribli ’25, and Quinn McWilliams ’25. The Titanic Award was presented to the team of Kieran Hickis ’25, Jake Stachowicz ’25, and Derek Duane ’25. Finally, the Van Gogh Award was given to Tom Reynolds ’25, Eamon Sack ’25, and Richie Colassono ’25.
A crowd favorite was the team of Reynolds, Sack, and Colassono, who won the Van Gogh Award by decorating their boat with a Viking-style mascot of Sarhan on the bow, causing laughter to echo throughout the Chaminade pool.
“We had some spectacular sinkings, some very creative boats, and so much enthusiasm and care put into all the crafts,” said Sarhan. “We plan on doing it again and truly hope to make it an annual event for the Science Club.”
When asked to give advice to anyone who may want to participate in the future, Sarhan exclaimed, “Join the Science Club! We want to expand our ability to hold more events like this and hope to see more faces soon! For those who want to participate next year, I would like to see people who value creativity and have fun with their creations. Obviously, teams should put care into the boat to try to win, but the more creative the boat, the better!”
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