History Trippin' 

From there, we listened to a presentation on how whales were hunted.  Loved the whaling songs, but the description, and later the pictures of a whale being killed and the blubber being removed were gruesome.  After that we made our way to the children’s museum, which was so much fun that the kids didn’t want to leave.  I loved the fact that it was simple.  It wasn’t high tech at all.  It had a galley, an old pot-belly stove, a wooden table, 2 berths with round windows to look out of, a big wooden boat to climb on with fake fish that you could throw overboard and try to catch.  In addition, there was a quiet room with books, puzzles, instructions for tying knots and a lesson on signaling ships with flags.  It was a great place to engage the imagination. 

We visited the Cooperage where we learned about making barrels and then got to watch the crew take the staves off of one.  As soon as the last one was pounded off the whole thing collapsed into a heap, but not to worry.  We all got to help put it back together.  Then there was the “Art Spot”.  Great fun for kids who enjoy drawing.  There were lessons on how to draw waves and boats, a backdrop for models to pose in front of so that the little artists could sketch away, and a place to use a camera and miniatures to create a movie scene. 

On our second day we learned how rope was made and then got to make our own.  We even got to keep a little piece of it.  We then went to the “Fish Split”.  Not for those with a weak stomach.  Yuck!  They taught us how to gut a carp.  We came away with the ear bone of the fish as a souvenir.  We played 18^th century children’s games on the green and found that pushing a hoop with a stick is actually fun. 

We watched a demonstration of the staff climbing the rigging of a tall ship at the dock and then participated in the “Dead Horse” ceremony.  This is where we get the term “beat a dead horse”.  After a month at sea, the crew would start gathering scraps of sailcloth, clothing, whatever they could get their hands on, and stitch together a horse.  Then they would notify the captain that there was a dead horse on board, to which the captain would reply, “Carry on.”  The men would parade the dead horse around the ship, singing all the way, and then proceed to hoist it up the mast and beat the stuffing out of it.  When they’d had enough they tossed it overboard.  Our boys helped carry the horse around the ship, we sang, and then the crew hoisted it up.  We didn’t get to beat it like a piñata, but we watched the crew smack it around a few times and then send it sailing into the water to shouts of “Hip, hip, hooray!”   

Around the corner we found the skeleton of an old ship, the Australia.  It was taken out of the water for restoration, but was in such bad shape that it was gutted and left on exhibit.  You can walk through it and see the pieces of the ship labeled – the keel, the stern, etc.   In better shape was the Roann.  It is currently undergoing restoration in the shipyard and you can watch the work in progress.  From the observation deck you can also read about how Mystic Seaport restored the Amistad.  Fascinating.