Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Sara Hincapie
Junior Division
Individual Website
Recalling back to when the ocean became my prior fascination is rather difficult. My
elementary days were spent buried under books and movies about the sea. In fifth grade, my
class took a trip to the New Bedford Whaling Museum: I was rather rapturous that day. A few
days after the visit, the Education Department’s workbook—A New Bedford Voyage!— was
plopped onto my hands as gift from my mother. I read that workbook from cover to cover. Four
years later, its impression still prevailed in my mind. Thus, whaling was the first topic that was
even considered for this project. There was still so much to learn and build on to. The project
Conducting research for the project was a motivating experience. Websites funded by the
government and certified educational websites were used for secondary-source inquiry. Such
websites included NOAA’s Northeast Science Fisheries branch, the online National Park Service
and, primarily, the New Bedford Whaling Museum site. The Museum has many first-account
archives, including journal entries and diaries written by the personnel on whale ships. Those
entries comprised my primary sources. Paintings and old films from the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries provided some insight on how cities looked like during the whaling period. Taunton’s
Public Library has great books and files on whaling, which I took the liberty on using. By
studying all the sources mentioned, I was able to further my understanding of whaling. The
sources provided me with great data, supportive of the thesis. Overall, they gave the project a
The website category was the most interactive. It was also a field that not many people
tend to go in. I enjoy web design, and had previous experience with it through blog-making.
Doing this contest gave me an opportunity to get back to web design. Throughout the project, I
referred to books and websites whenever I was stuck. Most of the time I used a method of trial-
and-error to achieve the results that I wanted. The making of this website was done through
Whaling dates to time periods even before three-thousand B.C. It was not until the
seventeenth century that the industry began its booming period. Two centuries later, the
International Whaling Commission began its ban on commercial whaling. However, during its
reign, whaling brought about many changes. The currency brought in from whale products
helped with economic expansion and the development of the countries involved. Some powerful
businesses were able to rise thanks to the capitalist opportunities that the trade opened. Increased
travel, set by voyaging, augmented interactions between people. Ideas were spread through these
effort to improve the commerce—eventually affecting us. The changes and influence brought
upon us through whaling is why I believe that it was an important turning point in history.
(499 Words)