Page 1
One afternoon Bumi's family folded paper boats. Bumi chose yellow, Mum green and Dad blue. Their folds looked different. Bumi imagined the yellow boat would be fastest. Mum put a little water in a shallow basin. They would explore together on the floor.
Page 2
They placed the boats on the water. Green stayed straight, blue slowly turned, and yellow leaned to one side. Bumi lifted it out. ‘Mine is bad,’ Bumi said. Dad offered another thought: ‘We have a different result. Shall we look for the reason together?’
Page 3
Bumi examined both sides of the yellow boat. One fold was lower than the other. Mum asked Bumi to point it out. Bumi described the difference, then took dry paper. With some help, the folds became more even. They checked them on the table first.
Page 4
The new boat rested more evenly on the water. Bumi smiled, then wondered why blue turned. Dad asked what happened when the water moved slightly. They watched in turns. This time they were waiting to see what would change, rather than who would win.
Page 5
A small movement at the edge carried the boats in different directions. Mum sketched what happened, and Bumi added arrows. Every boat had shown them something. Even the tilted yellow boat had started a new experiment. Bumi no longer called it a failed boat.
Page 6
The adults emptied the water, and Bumi helped dry the table. ‘Three boats gave us so many discoveries,’ Bumi said. They had not chosen the fastest boat; they had found interesting questions. When a result surprises you, what small detail would you examine first?
Talk together
What would you look at first when an experiment gives an unexpected result?