BrewsterConnections - Brewster Academy

We Know What They Did Last Summer
Brewster students are adventurous and giving of their time. Here Connections
shares the stories of how some students spent their summer days and, for at
least one stargazer, his nights.
Rebecca
Marisseau
‘12 (Wolfeboro)
spent two weeks
at an Archaeology
Field School at
Strawbery Banke
Museum in
Portsmouth, New
Hampshire.
Why archaeology The Field School was excavating near the 1762 Chase
House, which belonged to Stephen Chase, a wealthy Portsmouth merchant.
Recently, Strawbery Banke staff began looking at old 18th century insurance
maps and noticed that there were other structures on the property in 1762 that
are not currently standing. Further research and archaeological investigation
revealed that the structures were the original privy and carriage house.
What Rebecca learned: Archeologists are very interested in excavating
privies because when they were no longer privies they were used as trash
receptacles. The families would throw food scraps, ceramics, glass, and anything
else they deemed trash into the privy. This leaves evidence of day-to-day 18th
century life for the archaeologists.
I participated in the excavation of the former carriage house and privy
foundations. Though I was fortunate enough to not have to dig in the privy itself,
I was given a unit with many artifacts in it!
What Rebecca and her team excavated: Two 1780-1820 pearlware
teacups, Victorian thimble, animal bones (shows what they ate), part of a carriage
wheel, leather, keys, horseshoes, thermometer, and a toothbrush.
cover, and light from
nearby stars to obtain
accurate photometrical
measurements.
Why this course
I chose this endeavor
because of my strong
interest in astronomy,
which was inspired
when I competed in
the New Hampshire
Astronomy Bowl last
March.
What Raymond
learned: I learned
about stellar/galactic
formation, sky geography, atmospheric interference, and planetary processes. At
the CTAS, I am learning how to set up and operate the observatory telescope,
use various filters to determine the quality of camera exposures, and that the 15
different exoplanets change in position and luminosity as they interfere with the
light of nearby stars.
My experience at CTAS has taught me to pay close attention to every detail
on the computer data, since any error can possibly result in inaccurate
measurements that can change the overall outlook of the transit observation(s).
I have three mentors who are highly educated in physics, chemistry, and
engineering. They are very detailed in all that they do in sharing their knowledge
of astronomy. At UC Berkeley, I learned from my experience that life in a large
university requires a huge responsibility from an individual to succeed because
there is no supervision inside and outside of class.
Raymond Soriano ’12 (Laredo, Texas) enrolled in a six-week course in
astronomy and oceanography at the University of California, Berkeley. When he
wrote the following, Raymond was in the middle of a two-week research project
on the 15 exoplanet transit observations at the Central Texas Astronomical
Society (CTAS).
In particular, I am recording the luminosity of the exoplanets with various
calibration filters as a means of taking into account signal-to-noise ratio, cloud
Amy Misira ’12 (Cockeysville,
Maryland) interned for the nonprofit
Children Across Borders headquartered
in Tampa, Florida. This organization
provides sustained support in the form of
education, health, housing, and wellness
to underprivileged children throughout
the world.
10 BrewsterConnections – Fall 2011