On-Water Programs & More
Shipwrecks!
Use an ROV to explore shipwrecks in "real-time"!
You and your students take a boat ride on Basin Harbor Club's EScape, and "dive" with a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) on a shipwreck at the bottom of Lake Champlain! The field trip begins with a short presentation on the history and archaeology of the lake, focused on how archaeologists discover and record the shipwrecks that are found. Students then go aboard the tour boat EScape and head out to the shipwreck, viewing it live with the ROV. The closest wreck for viewing at our Basin Harbor facility is Champlain II, a nineteenth-century steamboat that went aground in 1875. Other sites may be visited if your interests or the weather dictate otherwise. This experience may also be combined with one of our guided programs; it works extremely well with Digging, Diving, and Documenting, the Process of Nautical Archaeology (see Education: Nautical Archaeology.) We also recommend combining this program with a Self-Guided visit of our site. Discounted rates available for multiple programs.
Fees
$300 per trip.
Maximum number of people in overall group, including teachers and chaperones, is 42.
Funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Paddling Ecology—Field Trip
Educator Matt Witten and students
take samples in the lake.
Using a fleet of 10 canoes and science equipment, students study the ecological conditions of Lake Champlain. Groups receive basic boating instructions, and then travel on the open lake to conduct observations and measurements including collecting and examining plankton samples, catching fish in a net, and testing water quality of the lake. This field trip program is suitable for students grade 5 and up.
Fees
Full program (5-hours): $20/student (minimum fee $300);
Condensed program (3 hours): $17/student (minimum fee $255).
Maximum number of people in overall group is 28, including two required teachers/chaperones.
Rowing Ecology—Field Trip
Row as a team in a rugged, seaworthy 32-foot wooden Pilot Gig and explore one of the ecological and cultural treasures of Vermont—the confluence of Dead Creek and Otter Creek.* This area has for millennia been one of the most productive wildlife habitats in the Champlain Valley. Native Americans fished, hunted, farmed, and settled this site, and signs of their presence can still be seen!
Students will learn the basics of working together safely in a large pulling boat as we venture into several ecosystems including warm-water rivers, marshes, and possibly the deep, clear waters of Lake Champlain. Common sights include great blue herons, osprey, and huge jumping carp! Activities include fish netting and identification with a dichotomous key, and Secchi disk measurements for water clarity.
We have three Pilot Gigs available for use; 6 or 7 students can fit in each of these pulling boats, and there is some flexibility as to the number of accompanying adults.
*While our area of focus is the confluence of Dead Creek and Otter Creek, we also may explore the basin below the thundering Vergennes falls on Otter Creek, or Lake Champlain with its view of the towering Palisades on the New York side. Rowing Ecology is also an option in Burlington Bay.
Fees for 3- to 4-hour program:
Fee is $150 per boat, which can hold up to 8 participants, one of which must be a teacher or chaperone.
New! Ships and Shipwrecks Family Adventures
Educators with Stormboarding
visit a shipwreck with an ROV
LCMM and Lake Champlain Shipwrecks have joined together to bring you this new and exciting way to explore shipwrecks, without getting wet! Explorers of all ages will "dive" on historic shipwrecks in Burlington or at Basin Harbor using a remotely operated robot vehicle (ROV) operated from a boat at the surface of the lake. Combine this trip with any field trip to LCMM at Basin Harbor or aboard the replica canal schooner Lois McClure, when she is at her home dock in Burlington. Call 802-475-2022 for details and pricing information.
Champlain Longboats: Youth Rowing—Field Trip
Gigs racing in the Burlington Wakefield Row.
Photo Buzz Kuhn
Students come to the museum at Basin Harbor, the Falls at Vergennes on Otter Creek, or Burlington Harbor and learn to row as a team in our magnificent 32’ rowing boats. The primary focus is on team building, while exposing students to the cultural and natural history of the rich regional marine environment. Schools and youth programs can sign up for a one-time half-day session or join us for a full season of rowing, culminating in a regional gathering and race of boats and youth programs.
This field trip program is suitable for students grades 7 and up.
Fees
$150 for each group of eight (minimum fee $150). Call for details regarding seasonal rowing.