Students become civil and electrical engineers as they consider environmental conditions and work collaboratively to design, build, and test their own working lighthouse model.

William Henry Irby was born on November 6, 1819, in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, to Thomas W. Irby and Ona Oney E. Thurman. William was one of 11 children born to the couple. Raised on a farm, he married Phoebe Ellen Hubbard, the daughter of the Reverend Joel Hubbard, in 1858. They settled on a farm in Pittsylvania County.

In the International Small Craft Center at the Mariners’, there’s a Portuguese Moliceiro, or Kelp Boat. This boat was one of the first 5 in our collection, accessioned in 1934. This moliceiro had a life on the water, felt the sun’s rays and was used and loved by the kelp gatherers.

This month’s artifact of the month is our miniature 24-whistle steam calliope, ca 1901. The calliope was invented in 1855 by Joshua C. Stoddard and had its debut in Worcester, Massachusetts on the 4th of July, 1856.