Lowell Mills

Wow, we had an awesome day today at the Lowell Mills.  The students learned so much about how the mills were powered by turbines and how important the Merrimack River was to the factories.  I was impressed with their great questions and behavior today.  Here are some pictures of our day:

We road a trolley to our first mill.

We were able to see the canals which were dug by hand. 

 Here are some pictures of the huge turbines.

We saw how quick the looms could weave a piece of cloth.  The students were surprised how loud one loom could be.  The next picture is another room which had 10 looms working.  We could not even hear the person standing right next to us.  Students were able to see how quick the shuttles moved back and forth and have a better understanding of how dangerous it would have been to work in the textile mills.  

After lunch students were broken into groups and were given the role of being a scientist or an engineer.  Some students built a canal system and other students tested water wheels to see which style would move the quickest.  

Thank you to all of our great chaperones today!!!