What to take on a two-year trip?

Espen Conley

Eleven-year-old Espen Conley was surprised that the Lewis&Clark crew included two flute players. Ten-year-old Michelle Harris noted how little food the crew packed for the two-year wilderness trip.

Ten-year-old Ellen Dieckmann is pretty sure she'd need more than one keelboat to carry everything she'd need for such a long trip.

These were some of the ideas kids at St. Ann Catholic School had about the economic planning by William Clark and Meriwether Lewis for their 1804-06 exploration.

Kids in the Normandy school are a part of a program by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education. That's at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Michelle Harris

The program helps kids learn to make economic choices. They found Clark and Lewis had made lots of choices to get the most value from limited funds and cargo space.

President Thomas Jefferson had given them a huge task. One goal was to find a water route to the Far East. They also were to study the Indians in the west and inventory animals and plants along the route.

And their small crew had to have lots of different talents. That led to the need to make big choices on who and what to bring and what to leave behind.

Fifth-grader Espen Conley said he "probably wouldn't have thought" how valuable it would be to have two flute players. But, he said the flute music was important in keeping peace as they entertained Indians they met on the trail.

Ellen Dieckmann

Eleven-year-old Richard Harris said the flute music also helped keep the crews members' morale high. There was always plenty of music around the campfires at night.

Both noted the flutes and other Indian gifts, such as medallions, had another benefit. They didn't take up much storage space. They had to get all supplies into one keelboat. Of course, the crew members who were musicians did lots of other things on the trip.

Ten-year-old Robert Spilling said he probably wouldn't have thought to bring along a dog. Lewis had his Newfoundland dog, Seaman, to provide an early warning of danger.

In one economic exercise, kids learned how the crew bartered with Indians for things they needed. The crew avoided lots of baggage by trading for essentials while on the trail.

Richard Harris

One part of the kids' study included learning to make due with what you have on hand.

Teacher Julie Chase handed out kits. Each two-person team had to make clothing, housing and tools out of craft supplies. But, the kits had different types and amounts of material.

Nine-year-old Sarah Paunicka said she and her partner, 10-year-old Michelle Harris, were missing lots of things in their packet. For instance, they had to make clothing out of construction paper without either scissors or glue.

They ended up tearing paper by hand and pinning pieces together with paper clips.

Robert Spilling

Later, the kids got to trade with other teams for materials they didn't have. The first thing the Paunicka-Harris team did was trade for extra scissors and glue.

Michelle said Sarah was a better trader. "She got lots of stuff we needed," Michelle said.

Ten-year-old Breanne Novak said she wasn't sure she'd be able to make a trip like the Lewis&Clark expedition. "I saw a movie at the Science Center about the trip. I don't think I could go through those fast river rapids," she said.

But, fourth grader Ellen Dieckmann said she thought it "would be cool" to be a pioneer, at least part of the time. "I'd like to be able to make butter like they did," she said.

Sarah Paunicka

Also, she thought the fresh meat would "taste different than what we get at the store."

"But, I noticed the Indians ate all parts of the animal, including the liver and intestines. I wouldn't want to do that," she said.

All St. Ann kids get to learn more about economic planning next month. St. Ann will have five teams entered in the "Economics Explorers Rendezvous." That will be held May 2.

In the University of Missouri-St. Louis event, kids will plan ways to make a modern-day product--a T-shirt design. They'll make business choices leading to a finished product.

Breanne Novak

And the winning design will be used to make T-shirts for next year's Rendezvous.

Sarah Paunicka said her team is already at work. She's teamed with Breanne Novak, Michelle Harris and Ellen Dieckmann.

Sarah said, "Just about everyone on our team is good at drawing. And, I'm good at lettering. We're already at work on our design."