Helpful Resources for the School Year!

The article below, written by Grace Cordial of the Beaufort County Library, offers information that is helpful for the school year.  Please read and discover a new resource offered, StudySC. 

StudySC website is a good place to start!

It's the start of a new school year, so today I want to highlight a relatively new, and continuously evolving, resource about history, culture, and the environment in South Carolina:

One aspect of information delivery that gets overlooked too often are librarian vetted websites such as StudySC [1]. StudySC [1], created by the South Carolina State Library, makes available a student-friendly environment arranged by grade level and by subject area where students can find the information they need fast. StudySC provides online content to support South Carolina-specific curriculum standards. And it just keeps getting better!

K-12 students can use StudySC [1] to:

•Discover websites from non-profits, educational sources, and government agencies on South Carolina topics
•Read articles from DISCUS databases and South Carolina periodicals
•View pictures, video, and artwork that represents South Carolina themes
•Explore primary documents from South Carolina history such as maps, photographs, and oral history
Educators can use StudySC [1] to:

•Discover content from trusted websites on South Carolina themes for use in your classroom
•Explore multimedia content such as videos, audio, photographs, and maps to make your lesson plans memorable
Each grade level in StudySC [1] now features a "History Before 1865" section that includes information for K-12 students on the history of South Carolina, from the first inhabitants through the Civil War. For example, explore the topic First South Carolinians [2] - "Meet the Native Americans who first called South Carolina home." To review the section from an elementary school level, click here.

Other topics include Civil Rights, the antebellum economic system, and the age of discovery -- among others.

Just remember that one doesn't have to be a teacher or a K-12 student to learn more about the history of this state and its people. Libraries, and Beaufort County Library in particular, are all about offering residents and visitors opportunities for lifelong learning. A good way to participate in lifelong learning, is to to check out StudySC [1], regardless of your chronological age!


About the Author


Grace Cordial has been responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Beaufort District Collection at the Beaufort County Library since 1999. The Beaufort District Collection exists to acquire, preserve, maintain and make accessible a research collection of permanent value which records the history, culture, and environment of our part of the South Carolina lowcountry.

The Adventure Has Arrived

The Adventure is the new ship has landed at Charles Towne Landing. The SC State Park website shares this information about the ship.

The Adventure is a 73-foot representation of a 17th-century trading ketch was built at Rockport Marine in Maine and, like its predecessor of the same name, will be used as an educational and interpretive exhibit at Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site. The new Adventure fills the spot left vacant by the original Adventure when it was claimed by the elements after more than 30 years docked at the spot where the first permanent English settlement in the Carolinas was established in 1670. That ship was built as an original attraction at Charles Towne Landing when the park first opened as part of the state’s tri-centennial celebration in 1970. The builders of the second ship also followed the original plans by William Avery Baker, a Colonial ship expert whose credits also included the Mayflower II.

The new Adventure is expected to take about a month to reach its final destination in the marsh-lined creek off Albemarle Point where South Carolina as we know it today was born. There it will be a floating classroom, helping to tell the story of how English settlers, Native Americans and enslaved Africans used land and sea to build the plantation economy of the American South. A welcoming celebration for the ship will be held once it’s in place and secured for visitors to board, tentatively in early November, depending on the weather during the trip. The arrival of the new Adventure culminates the rebuilding process of Charles Towne Landing, a multi-year effort that also has resulted in a new visitors center and museum, replica working cannon embrasures and indentured servants quarters, ongoing archaeology digs and displays, and an interpretive history walking trail.

Adventure Fast Facts:
Length – 50 feet on deck, 73 feet from bowsprit to furthest point, 40 feet on the keel.
Weight – 50 tons. (The anchor weighs 350 pounds.)
Height – The mast, with an extension, measures 53 feet from the hull, 43 feet of that above the deck. (The ship is taller than it is wide.)
Construction – Cedar, pine and oak. The boat took nine months to build.
Masts, sails – Two masts from the desk (main and mizzen), top mast attached to the top of the mainmast, and the bowsprit (which leans horizontally out over the front of the boat.) There are five sails: main, lateen, top, stay and jib.
Diesel Engine – To meet modern requirements, the Adventure is equipped with a 180-horsepower Volvo diesel engine.
Builders – Rockport Marine, an internationally known wooden ship boatyard on Rockport Harbor in Maine. Its work includes the Godspeed II now at Jamestown in Virginia. (www.rockportmarine.com)
Time, Cost – The boat took nine months to build. The cost is $1.4 million, funded by state appropriation.

CHARLES TOWNE LANDING PROGRAMS

Cannons boom. Muskets bark. Interpretive rangers in 17th century dress tend heirloom crops. They’re all part of the “new” Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site. Here a group of English settlers landed in 1670 and established what would become the birthplace of the Carolinas colony, the plantation system of the American South, and one of the continent’s first major port cities. And here the story is still told. Opened in 1970 as Charles Towne Landing State Park, the peaceful park on a marshy point off the Ashley River was rebuilt in 2006 with a sharpened focus on the site’s remarkable past. Begin with the 12-room, interactive museum in the Visitors Center that includes a “digital dig”. Then walk the self-guided history trail, using the MP3 players that add an audio tour to the experience. Admire the Adventure, a full-size replica sailing ship built onsite, and the authentic experimental crop garden. Talk to archaeologists at work. And leave time for the Animal Forest natural habitat zoo and 80 acres of gardens that includes an elegant live oak alle’ and the Legare-Waring House, one of Charleston’s favorite sites for weddings and other special gatherings.

Visit the Friends of Charles Towne Landing website for activities for students and teachers. There are coloring pages, activity pages, education standards and lots more. You may also see a link to the new ship, Adventure in its building phases and learn of its arrival at Charles Towne Landing.

SATURDAY PROGRAMS
October 4 at 1, 2 and 3pm
Fears that Fortified Charles Towne series: An introduction to 17th-century small arms

October 18 at 1, 2 and 3pm
Fears that Fortified Charles Towne series: 17th-century cannon demonstration

October 25 at 1, 2 and 3pm
Colonial Crafts for Kids

ARCHAEOLOGY DAY
October 11
Get a first-hand look at Charles Towne Landing's archaeological resources and discover the science of archaeology and the history revealed below the surface

CHARLES TOWNE EXPERIENCES
Sundays at 2 and 3pm
Through a variety of program offerings, including costumed demonstrations, hands-on activities, ranger walks, presentations and more, park rangers will delve into the many fascinating aspects of the foundational years of Charles Towne