The day Simon and Alex flew back home to Toronto, we stopped at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery to view Samuel Holland's 1765 Map of PEI (then the Island of St John's, still part of Nova Scotia).
The exhibit was well curated and very informative. As well as the original map on display, there was a large replica which had been affixed to the floor, and which people could walk on. The boys enjoyed looking for our "lot" and seeing if they could find all 67 across the province.
Other early maps were also on display. It was interesting and amusing to see the many misconceptions that earlier maps had included, especially with regards to the size and shape of the small but formidable island on which we spend our summers here in Canada!
Other early maps were also on display. It was interesting and amusing to see the many misconceptions that earlier maps had included, especially with regards to the size and shape of the small but formidable island on which we spend our summers here in Canada!
Of particular interest was the display of tools that the land surveyors used to measure the 67 2000-acre parcels they divided the island into before the famous lottery took place.
Can you guess what this is? How might it have been used to measure the size of the land?
Can you guess what this is? How might it have been used to measure the size of the land?
What obstacles might the surveyors have faced in the 1700s? How might the Mi'kmaq, who had summered on the island for many years, have reacted to the British surveyors? What other math and social studies problems can you think of related to this project?
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