On March 12th, 2026, three bright yellow buses departed from the school towards the recreation center, carrying students eager to test whether their handmade cardboard canoes would float. As the buses pulled away, students watched anxiously while the canoes were carefully transported by moving trucks to be carried into the pool area smelling strongly of chlorine.
Groups of students assembled briskly, changing into their swimsuits and preparing for the challenge ahead: getting soaked in the vibrant blue waters. However, things didn’t go entirely as planned. Alec Byrum, the Technology Educator from Mentor High School, realized he had forgotten a crucial item—the paddles. “As soon as we arrived at the Rec Center, I noticed we didn’t have the canoe paddles, so we had to improvise with some hand paddles provided by the center,” Byrum said.
This mishap sparked a new idea for next year’s class: require each team to craft their own paddles. “I think making paddles will make the activity even more interesting,” Byrum added, “and I plan to implement that next year.”
For the build, Byrum provided about 50 sheets of cardboard—each measuring 40 inches by 96 inches—along with rolls of black duct tape. Some canoes resembled mini submarines, while others were inspired by favorite games and boats.
When the competition began, students were handed bright yellow hand paddles instead of long, sturdy canoe paddles. They splashed their way from the deep end to the shallow end, hearts pounding with a mixture of joy and dread.
Erin Melendez’s excitement grew as her turn approached; this senior at Mentor High School had volunteered to be her group’s designated tester, preparing herself for the worst—her canoe sinking.
Nervous but determined, Erin clung to her canoe as it floated on the water’s surface, her heart pounding as she sat on the edge of the pool. Her feet rested on the canoe, casting a shadow over the blue surface. Gently, she shifted her weight onto the canoe and nearly lost her balance, but she managed to stay upright.
With the bright yellow paddles in her hands, she squeezed the sides and started paddling, her movements slow but sure. A rush of fun replaced her anxiety, and she enjoyed the ride across to the shallow end and back.
“About 60% of the boats made it to the other side, which is quite impressive given the open design criteria,” Byrum commented.
Senior Ben Sherman and his group crafted a canoe that looked more like a submarine standing on end. The design did not provide a way for testers to paddle. Sherman’s crew, a shorter man teamed up with a much taller partner, faced the challenge of climbing inside the boat before it even touched the water because boarding it afloat was nearly impossible.
The shorter man squeezed into the front while the taller man took the back, both inching toward the pool’s edge, silently praying their wobbly vessel would not tip and send them plunging underwater. “I thought I was going to fall in,” the shorter man admitted. “As soon as we started to lean forward, I was sure of it. I didn’t even expect the boat to float!”
Yet, to everyone’s astonishment, the boat stayed afloat, sparking a wave of applause and cheers from the crowd. With only hand paddles that barely skimmed the surface, however, the pair could do little more than wriggle in place. Soon, they were stranded in the center of the pool, until Byrum swooped in with a pool scoop to tow them back to safety.
Students learned a lot about design. The experience was memorable—truly a once-in-a-lifetime event.
