Mystic Seaport

We are still in Massachusetts and will be here until Thanksgiving. Last Wednesday we went to the Mystic Seaport Museum, which is an outdoor museum that has more than sixty historical buildings. Some are alive with people and classes, teaching about making things with 19^th century machines.

When we walked into the printing building, I got to print some words using this old printing machine. I also was able to work it for everyone in our family. I learned that you had to put the letters backwards in order to have them forwards when you read them.

We also went on the Charles W Morgan, the last wooden whaling ship in America. Below the deck we saw where everyone slept. The captain got the best bedroom. He had his own bathroom and he had a big bed with gimbals so the bed was always level. He also had a sink and a lot of space and storage. The first mate had his own bedroom, but his bed was small and it didn’t have gimbals. He also didn’t have his own bathroom. The rest slept in larger rooms with more people.

We visited a blacksmith where a class was making stuff. A professional blacksmith made me a coat hanger, handmade in front of my eyes!

We also got to go to this place where I learned how to use a sextant. A sextant is a tool that measures the angle between the sun and the horizon. And then you look at a book that tells you when and where the sun will be in the sky, which then tells you where you are.

And then we went to another place where a man made barrels. We got to take apart a bucket and put it back together. When they make a barrel, they cut and carve pieces of wood (called staves) into a barrel shape. Then they put them all together. They don’t fit together perfectly, so they put a little fire in between to smooth it out, so they all come together. Then to attach all the staves together they put these metal rings around them. They don’t use glue or anything else to attach them. The staves have notches in the bottom, so that the bottom part fits perfectly!

I really liked Mystic and I really hope that at some point you can see it too!

Cole

My name is Cole Sherman. I’m sixteen years old and I plan to be an inventor when I get older. My favorite animal is the wolf. I really like visiting new places and experiencing different adventures.