Willow Glen Resident

Education

Ohlone project at Hacienda able to float students' boat

By Mayra Flores De Marcotte

Students at Hacienda Environmental Science Magnet School strapped on their lifejackets and climbed into an ancient form of transportation--tule boats.

Tule, a native grass that grows in marshes, was the primary boat-making material used by the Ohlone Indians.

The project is part of a yearlong lesson about the Ohlone Indians, who were native to the area, their way of life and their use of the native fauna and flora.

"It's something that the students look forward to all year long," says Marcus Clark, program assistant for science at the school. "Talking about how to build a boat and actually doing it is more difficult than most imagine."

The school gets the tule grasses from the San Jose Water Company and weaves the reeds together using cattails as rope.

"Students have to lay the tule down all straight and tie them together without breaking them," Clark says.

Using a wooden spoon with a hole in the handle, the students weave the cattail rope throughout.

"They start looking at rope differently because they know how it's made," Clark says.

The last test for the students is whether they have constructed a boat that's up to Ohlone standards. The ultimate test is whether the boat will float.

The students carried the full-sized boat out to the school's pond and watched it float. The pond is located within the school's 1-acre outdoor classroom, a microcosm of Bay Area ecosystems and a showcase for its science curriculum.

"After 300 kids took turns going into it and teachers tested it, the boat floated without a leak," Clark says.

It wasn't until a teacher weighing in at 250 pounds climbed aboard that the boat faltered, he says. Even then, the teacher got only his feet wet.

The third-graders have been doing this project for about 20 years, depending on the availability of tule, says science resource teacher Carolyn Flanagan.

Although the class studies the Ohlone and their way of life, Flanagan says it's more than a social studies class.

"It's also a class on technology," she says. "Technology is the application of science, and making the tule boats serve their purpose of transporting without leaking."

Flanagan says the creation of the vessels is also part of the connection. The students use the same tools and resources that the Ohlone relied upon. This makes the experience more tangible than just a lecture, Flanagan says.

The way the class takes the students beyond the scientific theory and into the trial and experiment aspect is what parent and volunteer Amy Huddlestun appreciates.

"This teaching method not only suits children's natural instincts to experiment, but it also helps them remember the content and the experience become more meaningful for them," Huddlestun says.

Her son, Ryan, a fourth-grader, missed the project last year because of the rain. This year his class was able to enjoy the project.

"There are certain milestones that kids look forward to, and the tule boats is one that kids get really eager about," Huddlestun says.