Oak Forest HS Student Carves U.S.S. Constitution to 'Embody Spirit of Glorious Ship'

Oak Forest HS AP US History student Matt Taylor shows off his semester project, the U.S.S. Constitution, completely created from newly split wood. An assignment called “History and You,” is a part of the APUSH curriculum for each semester. Students are asked to spend 10 hours over the semester engaging in activities that are both historically significant and fun. To create his project, Matt used a tree he had chopped down and got the tree down to a rough ship shape. Holes were drilled for the masts and carving tools and a wood burner added the fine details. Finally he made the base and burned in the names. Matt said, "I had a lot of fun with this project. The U.S.S. Constitution is a 200 year old warship that was commissioned in 1798 out of Charlestown and still floats today. This earned it the nickname of ‘Old Ironsides.’ My project attempts to embody the spirit and legacy of this glorious ship. The ship that represents the American spirit of never giving up, and most importantly, never losing."