Tall Ships Education
Pirates part of education resource guide delivered to schools in time for Tall Ships 2005 Schools included in tall ships mix
Capital Region students will get a taste of seafaring life in time for the 2005 Victoria Tall Ship Festival June 23-26.
A 120-page teacher's resource guide is being distributed to South Island school districts this week, helping connect classrooms to the four-day maritime celebration on the Inner Harbour.
"Very early on we recognized that K to 5 and middle schools would still be in session during the big event," said tall ships society executive director Bernard Brown.
"It made a lot of sense to introduce a curriculum that teachers could use to educate students about tall ships before the festival got underway."
Created by 10 volunteer teachers and Centre of the Universe interpreter Margaret Milne, the resource guide covers everything from early exploration and life at sea to the science of sailing and navigating by the stars.
There's also a unit titled Pirates: Friend or Foe, featuring Peg-leg Pete, who'll also make an appearance at the festival's on-site pirate school.
"If there's one common set of words we heard out of kids' mouths during the Halifax festival, it was where's the pirates," said Brown.
"We didn't want to disappoint."
The tall ships resource book - paid for by BC Ferries - will be available in 900 classrooms from Sidney to the Cowichan Valley and Nanaimo.
More than 250,000 visitors are anticipated to attend the June festival, where two-dozen working tall ships will be anchored in the Inner Harbour.
Confirmed vessels include the Pallada - the largest tall ship in the world - and the Lady Washington, the Black Pearl from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean.
