Whatever floats your boat.

That was the challenge facing Lampeter-Strasburg (L-S) High School science students during the annual Cardboard Boat Regatta, which was held May 27 at the Lampeter-Strasburg YMCA's outdoor pool.

AP biology teacher Erica White said the event is an example of L-S science teachers encouraging their students to take academic risks. "Don't be afraid to fail," she said. "Take the risk. The payoff can be really fun."

The regatta is the culmination of a two-week project. "We offer several AP science courses," White said. "At the end of the year, after all the college board exams are over, the kids get into small groups, which include a student from AP chemistry, AP biology, and AP physics. They have to design a boat out of cardboard and other specs that will survive a race to the other side of the Olympic pool and back without sinking."

Teachers make recommendations, but the rest is left to the students. "There's a lot that goes into it," White said. "They have to also know where their water line will rise to, so they don't sink. They have to give us their calculations. They have to give us the reasoning behind the shape of their boat. What's the best boat for survival, basically. And then who is the fastest."

She noted that students learn about collaboration and communication. "There is a lot of communication (needed) because they are in different science classes, and they are juniors and seniors," said White. "They might only see each other one time during the day to work on the project. So they learn a lot about time management to make sure they hit all their requirements and deadlines."

The teacher also expects students to understand the science behind their design. "They can pull from a lot of cross-curricular ideas and realize it does apply to real life," said White. "It's adventurous."

Participants are permitted to use cardboard and tape, as well as permanent markers to decorate their vessels. Winners receive trophies, which are also constructed with cardboard and duct tape. "They are extremely valuable in this world," White noted.

The Franklin entry - Parker Reinhart, Saaketh Vermuri, Callie Reynolds, Keira Smecker, and Jack Kirchner - survived both heats and was the last team standing. "We had multiple layers of cardboard in ours, which helped it to be really sturdy," Keira said. "We had three layers on the bottom and three layers on the side as well."

Callie took part in the regatta last spring and passed some intel on to her teammates. "We made it wider this year, with more surface area," she said. That helped Callie and Keira distribute their weight evenly. "If you put all your weight it the middle of the boat, it will start to fold and break there," Callie said. "We put most of our weight on the sides of the boat, and I think that worked pretty well."

Keira and Callie piloted the boat and used an unorthodox method of rowing as Callie got a little overexuberant and inadvertently conked Keira in the noggin several times. "I got whacked in the head, but I don't know if that's a strategy," said Keira.

Whatever they were doing worked as the duo rowed to victory. "I was pretty surprised," Keira said. "We were happy. I turned around and saw all the boats sinking, and I thought, 'We might make it!'"

The team made up of Asher Reno, CJ Grandizio, Kaitlin Churchill, Addie Rodriguez, and Owens Maines won Best in Show with its Mario Kart theme, and the watercraft also proved to be seaworthy. "It was very big," Asher said. "I had to take it home and work on it over the weekend, but we got it done. The actual calculations weren't hard, but keeping it together was very difficult. I'm happy it was able to float, and it made it across the pool."

Team Mayflower - Hayden Nebel, Dom Brown, Rylee Diller, Evan Girdharry, and Avary Weiler - won the Sea Shanty Spirit award for its pre-race chant.

Hammerhead Shark - Brynn Young, Isaiah Jones, Danny Jones, and Riley Lefever - got the Titanic award, although there were no icebergs to be blamed for their sinking.

Mikayla Coe, Riley Kurau, Connor Hess, and Liam Grubb's team, Jack Sparrow, was the fastest finisher in the heats.