Jamaica High School students race boats they constructed from cardboard and duct tape
What do you get when you combine cardboard and duct tape?
Racing boats.
At least that was the case recently at Jamaica High School in Queens, where students and staff participated in the fourth annual Cardboard Boat Race.
Pairs of students raced down the length of the school’s swimming pool in boats that they constructed from cardboard boxes and duct tape, and then decorated in bright colors.
This year’s fastest boat prize went to the team “Friday Night Lights” led by student Omawattie Balram.
“I attribute our success to the boat’s low sides, which allowed us to reach our hands deeper into the water and move the boat faster,” Balram said. “The other key factor was the fins we designed, which made the boat more stable in the water.”
Principal Walter Acham said the race was conceived as a physics lesson 
in Archimedes’ Principle of Buoyancy, but that it’s also a way for students and teachers to have fun.
“For a lot of these kids, it’s their first time interacting with a teacher outside of the classroom, and that kind of communication is great,” Acham said. “These races are just another example of the school spirit we offer.”
“It’s fun, it’s a good experience, and it shows how a team can work together,” a racer, Ponam Seeratan, said.
There was also a prize this year for best boat theme.
The presidential theme was the most popular. Entries included the boats “Seabama” and “Barack the Boat.”
First prize, however, went to the boat “First Ladies” (below) which was decorated with cardboard cutouts of the Obamas.
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