“It’s exciting – whenever a small boat goes to sea, you never know what will happen,” said Dick Baldwin, head of Educational Passages, who spoke to the Morristown-Beard sixth grade class on Oct. 1. Baldwin gave the students the first glimpse of their boat, which was built by vocational high school students in Maine.
An avid sailor, Baldwin began Educational Passages four years ago as a way to educate youngsters about ocean winds and currents. To date, the group has launched nearly 20 boats – each with its own unique story. Some boats have sailed through hurricanes and have been retrieved as far away as Portugal, Granada, and Nova Scotia. Another boat went ashore in a tribal village in Panama.
The idea to bring the project to Morristown-Beard School came from a parent and trustee Joe Robillard, who read about the Educational Passages program in a sailing magazine.
“After I finished the article, it took about three seconds for me to pick up the phone and see if we could bring this to Morristown-Beard,” said Robillard, whose idea was quickly embraced by Headmaster Peter Caldwell and Middle School teacher Lisa Swanson.
“There are so many ways to incorporate different disciplines into this project,” said Robillard. “It can provide a backdrop to study everything from physics and earth science to world languages.”
“We will begin our study of physical geography in the next week, so this will fit in nicely with our discussion of wind and ocean currents,” said Swanson. “Already you can see that the students’ enthusiasm for this project is infectious.”
After Baldwin’s presentation, many sixth graders crowded around the small boat to get a better look at it – and to examine their class photo and school information that was affixed to its deck.
In the coming weeks, the students will vote on a name for the boat. They will also need to sand and paint the hull, determine what objects to place in the boat, and help decide where to launch it.
“This is the students’ project and this is their boat. I really want them to take ownership of it,” said Swanson.