Information from: Betty Coerber
Evans School
Fond du Lac, WI. 54935
Welcome to Adopt-A-Ship's Web Site! Participants in the Adopt-A-Ship Program find it a most unique and rewarding experience in their school career. Some of the things we learn and experience fit right into our school curriculum, and every subject is covered. We would like to share some of these experiences with you. We hope other participating schools will also share their experiences with us.
Reviewing the basic operations in Math class can be enhanced when related to things a Captain will do on the vessel.
Our vessel brought back 472 tons of tulip bulbs from the Netherlands to the U.S.A. in 59 containers which were filled to the brim with tulip bulbs. The containers were 4 feet long. How many tulip bulbs did the vessel bring back to the U.S.A. for sale? To solve this problem we weighed a pound of high quality tulip bulbs. We found that 13 of these high quality bulbs equal one pound. We could now solve our problem.
Compare the length of your vessel to a football field. How many football fields would be needed if your vessel was to be brought ashore?
Compare the height of your vessel to a well know building in your city, like the "leaning" one above.
Compute the nautical miles your vessel makes in a 24 hour period.
How is time calculated on a ship?
What is different about the work hours of an officer on watch from a person who works ashore?
Locate the latitude and longitude of the ports of call on your vessel's itinerary.
Research the history and geography of the port city and its country. Compare their educational system to your own.
What is the country known for? What language do they speak? What historical buildings make their country a tourist attraction? What kinds of money do they use? Compare its value to our American dollar.
Research the bodies of water your vessel travels enroute to the ports of call on her itinerary.
What navigational hazards must they watch out for when transiting these waterways?
Writing letters to the Master and Officers on the vessel serves as an excellent tool for teaching composition, spelling, sentence structure and grammar as well as the proper way to write a letter. Letter writing also helps to develop thinking and communication skills as well as organizational skills. Students tend to enjoy this aspect of the program because they do not look upon it as an assignment, but rather as a fun experience with their shipmates afloat.
Shipmates can research the various kinds of storms at sea: hurricanes, typhoons, tsunami, and monsoons. Students may also become familiar with different water inhabitants such as sharks, dolphins, whales, and various types of fresh and salt water fish. Currents, icebergs, winds, and other natural phenomenon may also be explored.
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