Greenwich

On Wednesday, June 12, the EIL students along with Profs. Berry and Parsons took a Thames Clipper boat up the Thames River to Greenwich. At Greenwich, they visited the Cutty Sark ship, Royal Maritime Museum, the Queen's House, and the Royal Observatory.  In the Time and Longitude Gallery of the  Flamsteed House at the Royal Observatory, students were able to see Harrison's sea clocks from the eighteenth century.  Harrison's H4 clock is considered the most important timekeeper ever made. It is the machine that helped solve the problem of keeping accurate time at sea and finally won Harrison huge rewards from the Board of Longitude and the British Government.  As is customary,  group photos were taken at the Prime Meridian (Latitude 0) and with Southeast London as the background.  A new addition to the itinerary this year was a short bus ride to the Thames Barrier, just north of the Greenwich Town Centre. Operated by the Environment Agency of the British government, the Thames Barrier is one of the largest movable flood barriers in the world.