Our first day of Bayshore Discovery was split up into two parts: before and after lunch.
Before lunch, we met Captain Briggs and Steve, one of the workers at the facility. The captain gave us a brief overview, then Steve took us all on a tour. He walked us around the wetlands, and we observed the different plants and how they benefit the ecosystem. We learned that the wetlands absorb a lot of the flood water that comes in from major storms and hurricanes. After the wetlands, we went back to the museum and Steve told us about the history of the facility. From the late 1800s to the early 1900s the shipyard was used for catching, cleaning, and shipping oysters to the surrounding areas as far west as Kansas City and as far north as Canada.
After lunch, we started working. Eric worked on the computer to get the contact information for all of the school heads in Burlington county. Maura and Natalie painted the windows and doors white. Caroline, Aparna, and Kelcie worked on the rope pulleys; they painted and glazed them. Ian, Andrew, Katie, Kierra, Sierra, Gabby, and Andayah worked on the shafts. They sanded and glazed three of them.
After an eventful day at the dock, we all relaxed or slept on the way back to school.
-Ian, Gabby, Andayah
