Overnight Overview
The crew of the Santa Maria strives to offer students an experience which is not gained in the classroom; therefore, we try to minimize time spent on facts and figures, dates and so on. The men who went to sea quickly learned to operate in their environment.

While we won't quite master the ship overnight, we do seek to expose our visitors to that vast maritime heritage which is part of our history. The greater their familiarity with the general history of Christopher Columbus and his voyages, the more readily they will enjoy and learn in our program.

Some familiarity with nautical terminology will be helpful. For your convenience, a glossary is available here. A teaching guide is mailed with your registration packet. You can download a copy of the Teacher's Guide (PDF) from our web site. It is aimed at 4th grade students; we hope that you can adjust some of the topics to suit your particular circumstances. Download the Adobe Acrobat Reader, it's free!

Crew Assignment
We will assign crews as they come aboard. Each crew will have specific responsibilities during the voyage, but all will try their hand at sails and climbing. Each crew will need a student first mate whose duties are to relay orders and to make sure his/her crew is safe and working hard at all times.

Adults will be responsible in assisting the Santa Maria staff as needed, and in assigning the first mate in charge of their crew. Adults will stand a 45-minute night watch with the crew to which they have been assigned.

Some forms on this web site are available in PDF format to make them easier to print. PDF Documents require the Adobe Reader Plug In. If you don't already have Adobe Reader, click the Adobe Reader image to get your FREE copy!