Friday, August 2, 2013

Day 4: Plymouth Hall Museum & Whale Watch




Day 4: August 2, 2013

Up bright and early…packed all of our belongings and new treasures, then checked out of our hotel. We began the morning with a scavenger hunt of Early Americans at the Plymouth Museum. 

Imagine if half of your town is lost in one winter to sickness!  That is what happened in Plymouth 1620.  In addition, we learned that when separatists got here it was the perfect place to live: the land was cleared (the Natives that lived on the land died of a plague prior to their arrival), a hill for protection and a lookout, fresh spring water to drink and plenty of animals/fish for a food source.  The separatists were called “first comers” according to the many interesting facts obtained from the Plymouth Hall Museum today. That’s right, they were not called Pilgrims until the 1800’s.  102 “first comers” came to the new land upon the Mayflower. The Mayflower arrived in 1620. Three other ships followed shortly after, Fortune, Anne and Little James.  There were 48 men, 18 women, and 35 children under the age of twenty-one.  A smaller vessel, the Speedwell, actually began the first journey. It took on water; therefore, all aboard had to return to port twice!  They finally left that ship and crammed on a cargo ship, the  Mayflower.  Prior to leaving England and traveling on the ship, people could not drink water because the water would kill them due to bacteria.  So, everyone drank Ale, even the children!  Prevention of dehydration was a major concern.

 
After we left this site, we went to the Jenny Museum to find out more about how the town people lived.  Following this museum, we went down on the wharf and hopped aboard “Captain John’s” boat and went whale watching! We (each teacher) were invited to go to the captain’s chair and drive the massive boat.  We videotaped the Captain telling about his boat and his job. Krill was our guide. She talked to us about being a marine biologist.  We also videotaped her teaching us about the whales.  We were able see the whales on a 4 hour boat ride twenty miles out into the Atlantic Ocean. It was a “wicked awesome” experience!  Wicked awesome is what locals say when something is absolutely wonderful.  They laughed when we said our experience was really cool! A local restaurant even had a sign out front that claimed they had “wicked awesome” corn beef hash. The final hoorah was observing the Pilgrim Progress (parade). Participants were dressed in character marching to music of their era.

We concluded our sunny day with a two hour drive to Worcester, MA where we checked into our second hotel for a good night’s rest. Tomorrow, we visit Old Sturbridge Village. Read Day 5 to learn about our adventures!

 
 
Day 3 Answers:

False   Tomatoes were NOT planted in 17th Century gardens.

Plimoth rock is less than 1/3 of its original size because it was placed in the town square where visitors chiseled off chunks as souvenirs. We got to touch the rock…no chiseling by TCE teachers!

Mrs. Hellmann’s favorite cupcake at Charlie’s Cupcake shop was peanut butter.

Day 4 Questions:

What is the life expectancy of a humpback whale?

True or False     Pilgrims traditionally wore buckles on their hats and shoes.

What was Mrs. Bell’s favorite activity at the Pilgrim Museum?

A. Taking Pictures                            B. Souvenir Shopping 
C. Watching Historical Video         D. Completing Artifact Scavenger Hunt
 

No comments:

Post a Comment