- November 26, 2024
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B.D. Gullett Elementary third-grader Greta Vanderweerdt called her entry "The Bolt" in the first Cardboard Boat Regetta June 3 at the Lakewood Ranch YMCA.
Why?
"Because I think it will be fast to the bottom," she said with a laugh.
Her dad, Adam Vanderweerdt, listed to his daughter's words. "What?" he said, as if he misheard what she was saying.
As it turned out, Greta was right. "The Bolt" was more like "The Anchor."
Even so, the Vanderweerdts, along with all the other entrants, had a wonderful time.
Event organizer Charlotte Latham, who teaches STEM lab at Gullett, said she was hoping the fun competition could teach the children some engineering lessons and it challenged the students and their parents to build a boat out of cardboard and duct tape. Third- through fifth-grade students at Gullett and Tara Elementary competed.
Latham did have to answer one last question from a student before the boats went into the water.
"Can we hit each other with the paddles?"
"No," she said.