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    Home » Early Years Science » Which material makes the best dress up pirate sword?

    Which material makes the best dress up pirate sword?

    February 18, 2015 By Emma Vanstone 3 Comments

    This is a great themed activity for starting to learn about properties of materials and good experimental design. The idea is to make and test pirate swords built using different materials.

    First we made 3 different pirate swords. You can use any materials you have handy, but we used thin cardboard, a cardboard tube and a balloon

    how to make a pirate sword - pirate science experiment

    You’ll need

    Cardboard

    Tubes

    Decorations

    Modelling Balloons

    How to make a pirate sword

    Hold the swords, which do you think will be the strongest? Can you make a hypothesis?

    Decide how to test your swords ( be careful ) what do you need to keep constant in your testing?

    We decided to bang the swords on an empty cardboard box and look for any damage or dents to the sword and box.

    how to make a pirate sword

    Variables to keep constant

    Person holding the sword

    Force used to hit the empty box

    What do you notice? Was your hypothesis correct?

    how to make a pirate sword

    We found the cardboard tube made the best sword from a strength point of view, it didn’t bend or break like the other two.

    However, we also concluded that the balloon made the best pretend play sword as it didn’t break on impact, but also wouldn’t hurt anyone else.

    Can you think of any other materials we could’ve used?

    Which material makes the best pirate sword #piratescienceforkids #scienceforkids

    Last Updated on August 5, 2020 by Emma Vanstone

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    Safety Notice

    Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

    These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sarah

      February 18, 2015 at 8:31 pm

      I adore pirates, so for that reason alone I think this is a great idea! Materials science is a very interesting topic for kids. I do a unit on it with my third graders. Although I don’t know as I can test swords at school, this will inspire me to consider experiments like this. We’ve thought about materials for pencils, houses and sneakers. I like the idea of something more fun that they can develop a test for.
      Thanks for the ideas!

      Reply
      • Emma Vanstone

        February 18, 2015 at 8:38 pm

        I did wonder whether swords would be appropriate in a school setting? Maybe a pirate hat would work better?

        Reply

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