The Nina and the Pinta

A few weeks back a floating museum docked at our marina and the we decided to take the kids out for a quick history lesson. They were exact replicas of the Nina and The Pinta that Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic in. Maddie had studied this this year in American History so she was pretty excited. Sam and Meg were just along for the ride, but they like boats so they thought it was pretty cool. 

They handed out informative pamphlets when you got there and then each ship had tour guides to answer questions. I found it interesting that most of the people who manned the ships (currently) were volunteers and didn't get paid. They were very sweet and probably told the kids more facts than they cared to hear :-) The most interesting things to me were how small the ships were ( I wouldn't even really feel comfortable cruising around in the bay in them) and the fact that the crew was never allowed below deck for the entire voyage! Only the captain and the first mate were allowed below deck- crazy! 

They had lots of facts about other voyages the ships took and the types of provision on the ships. They also showed the kids the stones they used below deck to balance the weight of the ship. It gave me alot of appreciation for Christopher and his crew. After seeing the ships I think it truly was a miracle that they made it across the ocean!

Hopefully the kids soaked up a few things from the trip :-) Troy and I definitely enjoyed seeing the ships and learned a few things too!