In the orientation phase, students select a topic of study that interests them, choosing a specific, guided question to explore, and familiarize themselves with the instruments they'll need to collect their data.

On this leg of the Voyage of Discovery, the students organized into three teams of four, each focusing on a specific field of study. In turn, each team of students worked closely with an individual senior crew advisor.

Throughout Day Two and into Day Three, the students spent their time learning about each possible topic and using all of our intruments. Although the students' individual projects would be tightly focused, each student would also learn how to perform every experiment, including several which are not currently part of anyone's research projects.

Since learning to use our scientific gear is a central part of the orientation phase, some of the photos below illustrate our student crew members working with instruments beyond the scope of their own projects.

You can scroll down or use these links to jump directly to a topic.

Research Team 1: Celestial Tracking

Students: Alyssa, Harmen, Kortnee, & Lauren
Senior Crew Advisor: Menno de Leeuw
Guiding Question: Where is the Half Moon?

When the Half Moon anchors off Piermont Marsh on Day Three, Alyssa, Harmen, Kortnee, and Lauren will track the altitude and direction of the sun, using celestial navigation techniques to determine true noon and, in turn, the ship's latitude.

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Students: Dakota, Gabrielle, Marije, & Rianne
Senior Crew Advisors: Doug Lyke & Kipp Van Aken
Guiding Question: What is the mechanical advantage of different pulley setups?

While the Half Moon remains anchored off Piermont Marsh on Day Three, Dakota, Gabrielle, Marije, and Rianne will construct a block-and-tackle simple machine with the assistance of their senior advisors. The team will then use the rig to lift a fixed weight a fixed distance using several different pulley configuration. Rather than directly measure changes in the force needed to lift the weight, they will explore mechanical advantage by measuring the length of line that must be pulled through the machine to produce the constant.

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Research Team 3: Salinity

Students: Brian, Emily, Jeanine, & Wouter
Senior Crew Advisor: Scott Beiter
Guiding Question: At what latitude will we reach fresh water?

While the Half Moon travels from Gravesend Bay to the Tappan Zee Bridge on Day Two, Brian, Emily, Jeanine, and Wouter (with assistance from the rest of the crew) will collect water samples at regular intervals. While the ship remains anchored off Piermont Marsh on Day Three, the team will analyze their readings to predict the point at which the Hudson River's salinity level reaches 0 ppt (completely fresh water).