Christopher Columbus' Ships

Today, we had the pleasure of having a tour of the replicas of 2 of Christopher Columbus' ships - the Pinta and the Nina. We learned that:

• The Santa Maria (no replica was available due to its size) was the largest of the 3 ships
• The Pinta was the next largest of the ships
• the top layer of the ships are called the"poop deck", because they used to make "Pupa Dolls" out of rope and have them blessed before each voyage. These dolls were then nailed to a post on the top deck, hence the "poop deck". The poop deck, by the way, was located at the rear of the ship, so that when the crew members had to relieve themselves, the air was moving in the correct direction to get rid of the waste.
• Speaking of air movement: we learned that due to Columbus' extensive experience as a sailor (he started out sailing on ships when he was only 14 years old), he knew when the winds would be blowing in the direction he needed to go. He always had the winds blowing from behind, in order to navigate the ships properly. His previous experience gave him that advantage.
• Columbus was 42 years old when he started out in search of America. His age was a big deal back then, because most people didn't live that long in those days.
• The crew members were mostly teenagers, starting as early as approx. 13yrs old
• The youngest crew member was the "cabin boy", who was approx. 9 yrs old. The cabin boy was the most popular person on the ships, because he was the one who got to go all the way to the bottom of the ship (maybe due to his size, is what I'm thinking). He got to see everything that was kept down below, so he knew exactly what they had and where it was.
• the ships did not have steering wheels - they navigated direction using the compass and the "Tiller", a very long piece of wood that turned the ships in different directions

• These were the symbols for King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella of Spain

• A list of the crew members on Columbus' voyage

• The compass that was used

•  My girls boarding one of the ships

•  Claudia on deck

•  A list of the ship's provisions. 

•  Columbus' voyages

• The Hold is where the sailors kept all of their best goods: food, water, dry clothes, their most important stuff. Their "most cherished" items were always their maps/charts. Since the maps/charts they had were usually their only copy (no Google back then, lol) - they guarded them as prized possessions.

•  Claudia, with her cousin, Madison behind her - ready for lunch

•  Sophia and her cousin, Hannah - at the end of the tour

• We took some great pics, but way to many to show, sadly
• All in all, this tour was very insightful - lots of good information - definitely worth checking out, if it comes to your area
• For more info, check out the website for the Columbus Foundation at www.thenina.com

Limericks

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, Claudia set out to write some Limericks about her cousins. Here are the results.

Crayola Experience - Field Trip with GGM

We spent today with some friends at the Crayola Experience in Orlando, FL. It was amazing...lots of fun stuff to play with and some cool creations were made.

Extra large Lite Brite - how cool!

The girls were able to color pics on computers.

Sophia drawing with chalk - fun stuff!!

Spin Art - melting crayons into these fun designs.

They have these really cool boards to write/erase on - I want one of these at home!!

Here's the station where the kids get to make crayons. They choose the color they want, a design to add to the label and then they type in their names. The kids come out with their personalized crayons with their names on them...sooo cool!

This is the modeling station - the kids are able to make clay creations.

A whole wall of fun facts.

Yup, a whole display made entirely with crayons...what?! Awesome!

At the end of the day, Claudia showed off her "tin" of crayons/markers that we bought. Of course, we had to take a pic with a crayon outside...love it!!

Fun coloring pages printed with the girls' pics on them. Unfortunately, the girls decided NOT to color them in. Oh well, they are still a cool keepsake!

There were some other stations that I forgot to take pics at :( 

Our group (GGM) was given a room to ourselves, so that we could all have lunch together. It was really nice - I have to say...the folks at the Crayola Experience treated us really well.

All in all, it was a great day. Both girls said they would like to return another day.