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The scientific principles of displacement, buoyancy and gravitational force can be difficult for some students to grasp in the classroom, but if it's a matter of sink, swim or float, the concepts become much clearer.

That's at least the thought behind The Barrie School's annual boat races, now in their 15th year. Middle school students at the private Montessori school in Silver Spring spend months building boats out of only cardboard, latex paint, glue and caulk.

They measure, weigh and calculate how big to build them to accommodate several people without sinking as they paddle across the school's 25-meter swimming pool.

This year's batch of young engineers and scientists tested their boats last week at the annual race, which included teachers, alumni and heads of schools as racers and poolside parents as cheerleaders.

Some teachers chose to stay dry and vote on the best boat (it is rumored students make cupcakes with their team name to bribe the judges). Scores were combined with the teams' time across the pool.

It is one of the most anticipated events at the school, students and teachers said.

"They all want to get to middle school to do the boat races," said science teacher Seikor Bundu of the younger students.

But underlying the fun is an educational purpose. The students retain information better when they apply the concepts they learn in the classroom, Bundu said.

"You can't get their attention for more than 10 minutes if you're going to be theoretical," he said. "Learning that's entrusted to children is long lasting."

Take, for example, density. Eighth-grader Olivia Kimmel of Takoma Park knows her boat would sink if it is denser than water.

But eighth-grader Maura Deegan of Silver Spring thinks her boat would be less likely to sink if it is longer — to even out the mass. So her team meshed three boats into one long vessel with various tubes of cardboard.

Whose grasp of density is more accurate? Only the boat races could tell.

"A lot of people doubted us," Deegan said.

"And you sank," Kimmel reminded her.

But it turns out Kimmel, whose team won last year, didn't do well, either.

Citing gravitational force and buoyancy, she explained why: "We didn't have enough force going down, so we were really wobbly," she said.

When a student asked how he did, Bundu bragged that his boat was still alive, but he added, "I went slow, like a turtle."

It's not the final product that's important, he quickly interjected. It's the process of making the boats and understanding the science behind it while having fun.

"Our concept in science is to make it as interesting and practical and experiential as possible," he said.