On May 25, Lampeter-Strasburg (L-S) High School set sail on its first Cardboard Regatta, a contest that required students to apply their scientific knowledge to make boats from cardboard and race each other. Nine teams of students competed in the race, which was held at the Lampeter-Strasburg YMCA.

The activity was organized by three staff members at L-S: biology teacher Erica White, chemistry educator Tina Schockey and physics instructor Lindsay Garrett. The trio teamed up to introduce the event to students at L-S High School. Multiple other schools in the district hold their own cardboard regattas annually, and both L-S students and staff members were excited to finally have one of their own. "When you have that much enthusiasm and excitement, we knew it'd be successful," White said.

White, Schockey and Garrett each taught their respective classes during the same period every day, which allowed them to work together on how they would approach the event. Students were randomly selected so that each team would have at least one student from each science class. The physics students calculated buoyant force, the chemistry students explored the best ways to make the cardboard repel water and the biology students applied their knowledge to design the shape of the vessels. The students were given the assignment one month in advance, but they only had one week to create their boats.

On the day of the event, dozens of spectators arrived to support the teams, including the superintendent, the assistant principal, members of the school board and students' families. Although White and the other teachers didn't advertise the race, interest grew as the word spread of the first maritime competition of its kind at L-S. "Everyone was cheering and screaming for their teams," White said. "(The Cardboard Regatta) is so simple in concept, but it brought the whole community together."

The teams were judged based on a variety of criteria, and awards were given in four categories: the team with the best cheer or song received the Sea Shanty Award, a trophy was given to the fastest boat, a medal was given for best in show and the Titanic Award was given to the boat that sank the fastest. The award categories were designed to make sure various teams received recognition and were kept secret until the day of the race. "We wanted to celebrate everybody," White said.

White and her fellow teachers plan to make the Cardboard Regatta a yearly tradition in an effort to keep learning fun for their students. "We want to stress the fact that every learner is capable," White said. "You don't have to be a mathematician to put some cardboard in the water, learn something and have fun."