The Boston Tea Party Ship For Real!

For the second part of our field trip, we had to walk to the Boston Tea Party Ship under these circumstances:

1.  The weather was sunny with temperatures in the 90's.

2.  We had to cross many very busy intersections.

3.  Our group included 56 students and 11 adults.

Now for the best news of all:  everyone made it in one piece, and all the kids were real troopers.  I was so proud of our students for being so careful and adventurous!

After a 15 minute walk, we arrived at the Tea Party Ship and walked into a much appreciated, air-conditioned room. This room served as a replica of the Old South Meeting House.  Upon entering, each person was given a feather (the colonists dressed as Native Americans during the real Tea Party) and a card that described someone who actually participated in the Tea Party.

 

After everyone was settled, "Sam Adams" spoke to us about the reasons behind the Tea Party.  Additionally, there was another reenactor who taught us the different expressions from colonial days.  For example, if the colonists were pleased, they would say "Huzzah!"  If they were angry, they said, "Fie."   The audience was encouraged to actively participate, and the kids were quite happy to accommodate.

 

 

 

 

 

After our meeting in the replica (copy of) the Old South Meeting House, we headed out to the ship where another actor was waiting to tell us more details about the outside and inside of the ship.  Here are pictures from "down below":

 

Here is where the crew would sleep:

 

 

This is the storage area:

 

 

 

 

Here is the captain's desk where he is writing with a quill pen:

 

 

 

 

Back on deck, here I am steering the real Boston Tea Party Ship!

 

 

 

 

The kitchen of the ship:

 

 

 

 

The front of the ship:

 

 

After touring the ship, we went around behind the museum where there is a list of the colonists who participated in the actual Tea Party:

 

 

 

Also, there is this adorable sign:

 

 

 

 

 

This sign is a replica (copy) of an original sign that told what type of work was done at Griffin's Wharf during colonial days:

 

 

 

 

 

After that, we went inside the museum.  At our first stop, there was a play between two colonial women whose husbands were on opposite sides as far as the British were concerned:  one person supported the British tax while the other was against the tax.

 

In the next room, we got to see a REAL tea chest from the REAL Tea Party.  There are only 2 known tea chests still in existence, and one is at the Boston Tea Party Museum. 

 

When we were done looking at the tea chest, two pictures on the other side of the room came to life.  The pictures were of King George and Sam Adams who spoke to each other about the taxes and the British involvement in the colonies.  When we got back to school, this seemed to be the HIGHLIGHT for most of the kids.

 

Finally, in the last part of the tour, we saw a video that wrapped up the tour.  It showed Paul Revere's ride and the first battles of the Revolutionary War.  It was an excellent wrap-up of for our field trip as well as an excellent review of what we studied in Social Studies.  Wow, what an amazing and educational field trip!

 

Huge thanks to the Goodyear PTO for providing the funds for this field trip.  The cost to each student was ZERO!  Wow, we are sure lucky to have had this opportunity!