No. 19 Play Pooh sticks

A woman and child play Pooh sticks on a bridge at Mottisfont in Hampshire | © National Trust Images/James Dobson

Pooh sticks is a simple but thrilling game, first invented by the bear in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories by A. A. Milne. Learn what you need to play and what might increase your chances of winning.

What you need

You'll need two or more players, each armed with a stick of their choosing. You also need a bridge over moving water.

What to do

Stand on the bridge over moving water.
Check which way the water is flowing so you can throw your sticks in on the right side and they'll be carried underneath with the current.
On the count of three everyone must drop their Pooh stick into the water below.
Cross the bridge when your stick disappears, then wait to spot it on the other side.
The stick that floats underneath the bridge fastest wins.

Family on a bridge over the moat at Scotney Castle, Kent. A young child is pointing at something in the water below. — Family on a bridge over the moat at Scotney Castle, Kent | © National Trust Images/John Millar

Which sticks will win?

As you cheer your Pooh stick on its way to victory, take some time to watch what’s going on below. What happens as your Pooh stick lands? Does it bob under the water? How does the water flow around your Pooh stick?

Top secret tip

Try to choose a place on the bridge above the fastest-flowing water. This way you’ll have an advantage over the other players.

You could always play again with a stick that's a different length or weight. Was your second stick faster or slower? Did its size make a difference?

Measure the river's flow rate

Can you tell, by looking at something that's already floating, which section of river is flowing the fastest?

There is a sum you can do to work out how fast the river's flowing, which we call its flow rate. You'll need to take a measuring tape or a pre-measured piece of string to the river. You'll also need a stopwatch.

Measure a three or four-metre distance along the river then divide this by how long the stick takes to travel that distance. Multiply the answer by 0.85 to get the flow rate. So:

Distance of the river in metres / the time in seconds x 0.85 = flow rate in metres per second.

Perhaps you could come back to the river after it's been raining and measure the flow rate again then. What difference might the rain have made?