Detroit to Pittsburgh Canoe Trip - 2005

In a joint venture between the College of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences, students from Lawrence Technological University in the spring and summer of 2005 recreated a historic canoe trip from Detroit to Pittsburgh via Lake Erie to mark the 250th anniversary of the French and Indian War and specifically the anniversary of British General Edward Braddock’s defeat at the Battle of the Monongahela outside present-day Pittsburgh in 1755.

The focus of the project was both scientific and historical.  The trip was integrated into a calendar of commemorative events being planned by the State of Pennsylvania’s official French and Indian War Commemoration (www.frenchandindianwar250.org).  While the project was initiated by faculty in the summer of 2003, it was student-run and took more than two years in the planning.  The distance covered was 480 miles and took approximately eight weeks to cover.  The trip began in May of 2005 on Lawrence Tech’s campus.  Students portaged from campus to the Main Branch of the Rouge River in Southfield, Michigan.  From there, they canoed down the Rouge into the Detroit River, passing the Historic Ford Rouge Plant.  After several weeks of paddling Lake Erie, students made a fourteen-mile portage from Erie to Waterford, Pennsylvania (on French Creek), thereby passing from the Great Lakes to the Ohio River basin.  They were the first people in modern times to make this historic portage, which was a key transportation link for the French colonial government and Native Americans in the region.  The students then traveled downstream to Pittsburgh, participating in commemorative events along the way.  Students ultimately decided how much of the eight-week adventure they wanted to take part in, and ultimately how many credits they earned.  They potentially could earn up to nine credits in science, humanities, and engineering, since the trip included a program development component.  Courses developed in conjunction with the trip included history (culture and technology of the region), and entrepreneurship (planning, leadership, and fundraising).      

In addition to taking courses and building canoes, students prepared for the adventure by planning and participating in other activities, including lifesaving, physical fitness, canoe practice, K-12 outreach before and during the trip, logistics management, route scouting, and fundraising.  During the trip, there were additional educational experiences, including visits to historical sites, as well as to local schools and communities where students shared their experiences.  Some students kept a journal of their experiences and a video record of the trip.  Participants wanted to share this trip with the general public through numerous media outlets, including the Internet, newspapers, magazines, television and radio.