Designing the Buoy:

We thought about what would make the best sail and what materials to use. We used a blue crawl-through-tube as an underwater sail. We had to think a great deal about what to use to hold the tube to the buoy. We were concerned about the fact that animals in the ocean might get caught in materials like nets. We didn't want anything that might fall off the buoy and pollute the ocean. We finally decided on what to use:  Ropes, grommets, tackle, and d-rings, a buoy shell and a crawl tube.

By Annika S.

Designs, Names, and Colors

Our buoy also had style. We chose a name for it, chose a design for it, and chose colors for it. All of the things were fairly chosen with a vote. We voted for the name Excalibur which was picked by Daniel S. The reason for the name that he chose was because King Arthur got the sword Excalibur from a lake, and we're eventually going to put Excalibur in the ocean. Although, before we put it in the ocean, we're going to take a field trip to Piermont Pier where the pier dips into the Hudson River. Mr. Tanenbaum is going to take Excalibur on a small boat and put it in the river where the waves and currents aren't as strong. If the chains, and other materials that are on the buoy are the right weight and size, it just might work, if it does than we'll know it has a good chance of surviving in the ocean. The design phase was the same way, but without the field trip and everything. Different people designed a front and back for the buoy and we voted for our favorite, believe it or not, the front and back were both designed by our very own Olivia W. We are also going to make a logo with the same design and put it on t-shirts that we will wear on the field trip. The t-shirt color will be black, and the buoy will be gray. As you can see this is going to be a very fun project, and maybe you and some friends might want to try it!

By Samantha M.