Touring the Titanic

April 15th is the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.

The ship struck a massive iceberg late on the night of April 14, 1912. It took approximately 3 hours for the entire ship to sink. The Titanic became completely submerged about 2:45 AM on the morning of April 15, 1912.

So, I thought this would be a great day to take the kids to see the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, TN.

We got a special homeschool rate and also had the use of the info speakers for the audio tour.

   The view from outside the Museum.

  The size of the iceberg.

It was a 2.5 hour tour that seemed incredible. Each person is assigned a character that actually was a passenger or crew on the Titanic and at the end of the tour, you find out if you survived the iceberg.

We actually saw a passenger that had the same surname as have and that has became a project for DS to trace it and see if he was an actual relation in the past.

The most magnificent sight for me was the Grand Staircase, constructed from the original Harland & Wolff plans with its oak carvings and cherub statue. There is a magnificent glass chandelier that reflects all the light and elaborate railings and iron scrollwork. Then you learn that the flooring was the most expensive of the day in 1912 ~ linoleum. That was a surprise to me… At that time it was more expensive than European Marble.

    Outside with the HUGE anchor

You are welcome to take pictures outside but they don’t allow any pictures to be taken inside.

And there are tons of learning activities “on board” for the kids that they can do that only helps to make the memory of the Titanic come alive. 

   

it’s easy to see the magnitude of the size of the museum from this picture.    

 

  No details were left out ~ even the life boats are on there…

It truly was like stepping back in time!!

Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge…

This past week the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge and the American Museum of Science and Energy had FREE admission…We have been several times to both places, but they are lots of fun and when they are FREE, even better!!

So after out testing on Friday, we and some friends who were also testing loaded up and took off.

 The greeter as you enter the “Children’s Museum”…

The Asia exhibit ~

     

The kids practicing with chopsticks…

The Mexico exhibit  ~

The African exhibit ~

  

Playing Pioneer dress-up

   Trying out a rope bed…

   Thirsty?

More laundry???

Learning in a one-room school ~

  Putting on a puppet show…

President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library

Next door to the Doak House is President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library on the Tusulum College Campus ~ here they have a museum of the history of the college and quite a collection of items belonging to the Andrew Johnson family…

The building is from the 1800’s when the school was originally started and has the distinction of being the oldest college in Tennessee (1794). The campus actually has 10 structures that are on the National Register of Historic Places…

  clothing worn by various members of the family while being in the White House…

    President Johnson’s side table with a trinket box, his wallet, and several other family possessions..

 a beautiful family vase that was in the White House during his presidency…

I really like all the quotes from President Johnson they have hanging on the walls…

 

   This one is my favorite…

The kids were very interested and seeing all the items made the history of our 17th president come alive…    In the archive room, looking at several treasures kept under glass…

 

 

     a book from the 15th century

 The desk and library of President Johnson ~ the desk was used by him while in the White House.

             

Learning more about the history of the college and our wonderful state…

A gilded mask of our 16th president (and Libby’s favorite) Abraham Lincoln…

     

This was a wonderful trip and I think I learned as much about our 17th president and our state as my children did…

 

 

Davy Crockett Birthplace

With the cost of gas rising, we decided to make the most of our day in Greeneville and see some other historic sites…
The Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park in Limestone was the next on  the list being only 15 minutes from the Doak House…
Inside the park at the Ranger Station there is a small museum with artifacts and other thinks from Davy Crockett’s time period.
When you enter the museum you see several photos of Davy Crockett ~ my favorite was this drawing of him…   and several items that could have came from that era.
a buckskin shirt like worn by Davy
   a leather pouch and powder horn…..
This is the cabin that sits where he was born
Then out in the yard surrounding the house (which sits on the banks of the Nolichucky River), is an open oven
and a corn crib       
and a stone marking his birth  


And then the beautiful river views…   

Doak House and Museum

We had a great time with our fieldtrip group (SELAH)... Our trip was to Greeneville, Tn. to see the “Doak House” next to Tusculum College..
My kids posing beside a split rail fence…

Our group posing in front of the beautiful “DOAK HOUSE”…..
It was a beautiful day ~ the kids got to do some crafts in the "one-room schoolhouse".
  Our Welcome to the Schoolhouse

 
Homeschool class in the “One-Room Schoolhouse”
  Cutting out paper dolls….
The kids got to make “THAUMATROPES” , which were commonly made by kids in the time area for entertainment…
     
After a picnic lunch where the kids got to run around and play with their friends by the creek side,we had a tour of the historic home...
   A beautiful antique secretary and a grandfather clock which (while we were there) suddenly started chiming after not working for a hundred years.
Learning about the Doak family and the history of the home. We found out about the stoneware that was used by the family and about how they found the exact same pattern which was still being produced by a company in England.
 
The furniture and artifacts are from the family (1794 to 1860) and are on display in the original home. The museum is home to lots of educational and religious artifacts / documents from Northeast Tennessee. They have a nice collection of pieces that belonged to the Andrew Johnson family (while they were in the White House)....
In the kitchen, where we learned how Mrs. Doak would sometimes serve up to 150 meals a day by cooking for up to 30 young men that were staying with the family while being taught by Mr. Doak…
  ANTIQUE TOYS….
A corn husk doll…
Finishing the day with marble run races between the boys and girls…