Two-Day Marine Chronometer, c. 1840 (Inv. 38217) ‘Chronometer’ is the title given to clocks accurate enough to be used at sea. This one comes from the Museum’s collections, we wonder if it was similar to those Catilin saw at the Greenwich Maritime Museum.

Name: Caitlin

Age: 24

Occupation: Student

From: Kent

Object: Nautical Clock

Story: When I was about 8 I went to Greenwich Maritime Museum with my parents. They spent ages explaining how the clocks has helped sailors navigate the globe, which I found really boring. Their lecture was rewarded a few weeks later when my school held a science competition and my essay on how the nautical clocks at Greenwich helped sailors travel the work won me first prize – a book on science, a box of magnets and a huge bag of sweets (which lasted far longer than the book!).

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Compass, 18th Century (Inv. 35051) and Map of Switzerland, Early 19th Century (Inv. 10424). Do you think you would be able to navigate with these?

Name: Andrew

Age: 22

Occupation: Student

From: Oxford

Subject: Map and Compass

Story: I grew up in a family of outdoor enthusiasts–backpacking, hiking, and camping were common activities of family bonding. My parents’ love of the natural world rubbed off on me: among my fondest childhood memories are my family’s weekend backpacking trips through the mountains of the American Pacific Northwest. During my venturings into nature, I became acquainted with the combined use of maps and compasses as instruments of navigation. I learned how to align maps with landmarks, triangulate my position on a map, and orient myself within a given terrain using a compass. Even more, I found the joy in this form of navigation–in tracking the progress made and distance gained during a long outing. In the near future I look forward to trying orienteering as a sport, which involves using these same tools to navigate towards a destination in an unfamiliar landscape.

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