(Submitted By Susan Fentiman)

Photos by the Atchison County Mail

While Mrs. Libby Lotter was on maternity leave, her class in Fairfax, Missouri, enjoyed studying about the Titanic. Tate Johnson, Cyle Gilpin, Joaquin Hill, and Austin Helfers started in a dark room with gold paper on the wall and the students flashed their lights on the paper as I used my magic potion and spelled out Titanic. As I did the paper looked as blood was dripping from the letters. The students read several books about the Titanic including Polar Bear, which was told from the stuffed animal’s point of view and how he and his master were rescued and reunited. We read about Dr. Robert Ballard, who was the first scientist to find the shipwreck with the help of submarine Alvin and Jason Junior (a tiny robot that was able to go in the wreck). We watched the National Geographic movie, “Finding the Titanic”. The ocean was 28 degrees when the Titanic sank so the students drew a name and put their arm in a very cold cooler and left it there until the surviors’ names were called. We did several activities including: measured the length and width by city blocks, checked to see what would float or sink, and what rusted in the salt water. As an ending they enjoyed a Bon Voyage party (luckily they all drew first class names). We watched the Poseidon Adventure and floated their ships. We went to Austin’s pool where there were icebergs floating! The ships were unsinkable.