Field trip!

Last week we went on our first field trip of the year to the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and Fort Crown Point. Students are preparing for our social studies unit on Colonial America and have learned about early settlers in the Lake Champlain basin. 

Our first stop was the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. Students explored early boats of the area, like the dugout canoes below, top left:

They also explored some early diving equipment:

And talked to the staff about why there are so many wrecks in Lake Champlain:

There is a whole building about our involvement in the Revolutionary War, including the ship models below (the first of the Philadelphia):

And a video on the replica of the Philadelphia: Take notes!

Students could head down to the lake to learn about the ships: 

Our next stop was Fort Crown Point in New York. Students had already learned all about Fort St. Frederic and Fort Crown Point during class. Their task while at the fort was to create a photo album with their group of life at the fort. They needed to create characters, and include aspects of life during the time, such as food, work, and dangers or concerns of living in the area. 

The first stop at the fort is the presentation in the screening room. Here the students listened to a presentation with images and a map of the area, which highlights the conflict over the area between the French, British, and Native Americans. 

After the presentation, students exited through the museum. Here is a model of the French fort, Fort St. Frederic:

Later, the British built a much larger fort:

Here is a map of the British fort: Ask your student why the fort is built in a star shape--the design is intentional!

After a picnic lunch, students went off with their groups to start snapping photos for their photo album:

It was a beautiful day to explore the fort!

Students were able to explore the ruins and create their stories: Ask your student what happened to the fort!

Students created digital or hard copy photos albums, which they worked on until the end of the week. Ask your student to share their photo album with you if it's digital. They should have lots of details about life at the fort!