Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1
Head outside or do this in a kitchen/bathroom where water spillage is ok! Then set up your foil river or plastic tray, with a slight slope to it.
Step 2
Pour water slowly in from one end (‘up stream’) and watch it flow down the slope and collect in the other end.
Step 3
Build your dam across the middle of your ‘river’ or tray; use your creative engineering skills to think how best you can stick it all together and remember, beavers use the natural materials all around them.
Step 4 (optional)
To make things more realistic, add a few lego or playpeople characters stood on the lower slope of your river/tray, to represent people and things downstream of the dam.
Step 5
Pour water slowly in at the top of your slope, above the dam, and time how long it takes to fill up the other end. Does it get through at all? Can your dam hold water long enough to float a small object in it? Could you add anything else to allow it to filter slowly through?
Step 6
Can you tweak your design or build your dam differently so that it holds water for longer or withstands the flow of your river better? Time how long it takes for all the water to reach the other side, then add different materials and time it again.