9-12 Activities

These activities for Ships and Shipbuilding were updated along with the Learning Results in late 2008 and early 2009.

Ideas to try....

Careers and Writing
Compare and contrast, in an essay, the working world of shipbuilding in 19th century Maine and an occupation common in Maine today.  Consider educational requirements, physical requirements, how skills are learned, and how the job choices available to young people have changed. Learn about careers in naval architecture, shipbuilding, and yacht building—what is required? What opportunities exist?

Interview someone connected with shipbuilding or boatbuilding. Create a questionnaire and write up the information.

Read and write about shipbuilding 200, 150, or 100 years ago and shipbuilding today in Maine.  What has changed? What elements have remained the same?

Imagine a sea-going vessel of some particular type or rig. Write about its construction, financing, voyages, captain, cargo, and the end of its “life.”  Include some technical vocabulary.

Economics
Research the physical, capital, technological and resource influences on the shipbuilding industry in Maine. Present your findings in an essay format with references.

History
When Henry Buck took Maine shipbuilders to South Carolina and founded the small town of Bucksville, he planned to build vessels there near the source of timber.  Why did he build so few—the most well-known of which was the Henrietta—before his workers returned to Maine?

Mathematics
Calculate a sailing vessel’s tonnage, or capacity, using early 19th century formulas which can be provided by Penobscot Marine Museum.  Or, calculate displacements of simple volumes that might make up a simple hull shape. For example, a ship may be seen as having the shape of a cone added to a cylinder added to a truncated cone, all cut in half lengthwise.  Compare with the volume of a rectangular prism of the same overall length.

Using appropriate mathematical formulas to find the area of an object, and using estimates where needed, calculate the number of square yards of canvas required for three different types of sailing vessels. Compare the ratio of sail area to the length of the vessels.