SAILBOAT RACES
This craft is a perfect for a picnic day. Have each child make a sailboat. Give each child a straw. Have two children at a time place their boats on the edge of a picnic table. When you say “go” they blow through their straws to push their boats. Whose boat with go the furthest?
SAILBOAT HISTORY
- Sailing on the water dates back to at least 100,000 years ago. Evidence suggests that Neanderthals sailed across the Mediterranean Sea.
- Sailboats were used in ancient Egypt. There are paintings of sailboats on ancient Egyptian vases from 3,100 BCE.
- Ancient Egyptian boats were made of papyrus with a square cloth sail.
- The ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Babylonians used sailboats to trade goods in the Persian Gulf.
- The ancient Greeks and Romans made larger boats with lateen sails. A lateen sail is a large triangular sail that spans the length of the boat. The sails are attached to a long pole that is mounted on a mast. These sails made it possible to sail against the wind.
- Greek and Roman sailboats were used for military operations and for trade.
- The Vikings made lightweight longboats. They were able to sail long distances. They could quietly move their boat onto shore and raid the land. A Viking named Leif Erikson sailed to North America.
- Renaissance explorers discovered new sailing routes. They sailed their boats to unknown lands: The Americas, Australia, and New Zealand, and colonized them.
- Modern sailboats are used for recreation. Steam and gas powered ships are used for travel.