The heart of our students' educational experience on board the Half Moon lies in the various scientific topics they study in the field as we progress up the Hudson River. The educational crew designs these studies to enable students to observe, measure, and analyze natural patterns in the world around them. We stick to basic methods of gathering data, using devices that help the student gain insight about the workings of the world (as opposed to just reading an LED from a digital probe). Students also use primary source documents from the 17th century as well as collecting their own source data to generate their own primary source documents.
The student crew members work in teams, organized according to their duty watches (Port Watch and Starboard Watch). Each team member focuses on his or her own, individual field of study, while still assisting other crewmates where needed. The watches then combine their specialized areas of knowledge in collaborative research and presentation. Not only is this method reflective of how Hudson's crew would have worked in 1609, it also mirrors how modern scientific study is typically conducted today.
We'll present the students' work in three stages:
Stage One: Orientation. Early on, each student selects a specific topic of study within their watch's broad category (water science vs. weather science). The students then familiarize themselves with their instruments and present a hypothesis to test.
Stage Two: Data Collection. During each leg of the voyage, the Half Moon sets anchor for a full 24-hour layover, allowing the students to focus on an intensive period of data gathering and analysis. On this leg of the voyage, our layover is located off Beacon, NY.
Stage Three: Presentation. On their last night on board the Half Moon, our student crews culminate their educational experience by delivering team-based reports on the scientific topics they've studied while during their Voyage of Discovery.
We'll update this section regularly as the students progress through the stages of their research, so check back often!
