Shortly after the paddlers arrived today, a representative from Lake Champlain Basin Program came by to bring us an astrolobe. It's a replica of the one carried by Sameul de Champlain as he traveled throughout the region. Astrolobes are used to determine latitude. You hang them up, turn the dial so it points at either the sun or the north star and then you can determine your latitude. Champlain was a meticulous journaler and map maker - we know he had an astrolobe because he wrote about losing his in a river in Canada.
The Lake Champlain Basin Program made a replica of Champlain's astrolobe and is sending it on voyages related to the Quadricentenial along with a journal for voyagers to record their adventures.
The astrolobe will eventually be engraved with the names of all the voyages it's taken and given to the Smithsonian along with the journals of the voyagers. We might post a few of our own entries in the coming days...stay tuned!
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