During our trip to Cooper Grist Mill, the first thing we saw was the keystone on the mill that had the initials “N.C.” which stood for the builder’s name, Nathan Cooper, and the year the building was created, 1826. We also saw the river and talked about a couple of animals that lived in the river or went there for water.
Then, we went over to the mill and the flume. The flume is super cool and deep! It’s 29 inches deep. The Black River got its name from the iron and algae that turns the rocks on its banks black. Then, after that, we went down to look at the giant water wheel. It was really cool, especially when it turned on. It is also very fast! We saw the elevator for lifting grains.
Next, we learned about leather and how they use it to get power from the water wheel. The leather belt is the converter belt that helps power everything in the mill. Then, we got to use the pulley to pull up a big rock that weighed 100 pounds. It was hard, but then we added three more pulleys which made it easier to pull. I just went BEAST MODE when it was my turn to pull. We also got to the lever where we tried to lift a 45 pound rock with our body weight. We could not do it. Then, we made it easier by putting the fulcrum closer to the rock.
Finally, after many people repeatedly saying that they were hungry, we got to eat lunch and take a bathroom break before we went on the bus to go back to school. It was a great trip to help us with what we learned about simple machines in science.About the Author