Welcome Aboard the Floating Classroom
Ahoy ye mateys! Welcome aboard the 80’ Schooner SoundWaters. Spend a day with us aboard the floating classroom, engaging and learning about Long Island Sound from a unique perspective.
Schooner SoundWaters is modeled after a 19th– century New Haven Sharpie Schooner. Originally used for oyster farming, Sharpies’ flat-bottomed design allowed people who harvested oysters to travel farther and faster than previous dugout canoes and skiffs, and to navigate the shallow waters without getting stuck. SoundWaters repurposed the vessel in the 1990s, giving her a new life as a floating classroom so that generations of students and guests get to experience Long Island Sound from the water.
Aboard the Schooner, students learn to haul sails, learn about water quality and the health of the Sound, and meet our friends living below them. Learning on the Schooner is a hands-on experience like no other!
While aboard, students pull in a trawl net. A few of the animals students meet include flounder (summer, winter, and windowpane), porgy, sea robins, longfin squid, blue crab, dogfish, and so much more. Dogfish are especially cool because they are the only species of shark found in Long Island Sound. Mustelus canis (smooth dogfish) and Squalus acanthias (spiny dogfish) are the two common species found here in Long Island Sound. Closer to Stamford, smooth dogfish are more commonly seen. This is due to their diet, their favorite snack being mollusks and crustaceans. They hunt for their food in shallower waters.
High school Research Intensive students have the amazing opportunity to come aboard the Schooner in the summer. Aboard, students engage in hands-on scientific processes, including collecting live data on the animals of the Sound and taking part in a live squid dissection.
Being out on the water presents students with a new perspective on the world. The ability to explore the million-acre classroom provides our students with hands-on learning, and moments they’ll never forget. Whether our students or our guests come aboard Schooner SoundWaters, there is always fun to be had. You don’t have to go on an educational field trip to learn something new. During the summer, hundreds of guests join us on the Sound, and gorgeous sunsets are always a bonus. Being out on the water, you never know what you might see, and there is always an opportunity to learn something cool! Come join us this season to take a trip aboard the floating classroom.
