Time Travelers History-Lighting the way to freedom

In our study of the Civil War we've been learning about the Underground Railroad and how runaway slaves would risk so much to escape slavery and find freedom in the north.  One way that we learned about was a lantern was hung in a window with the big dipper on it, this was a symbol letting the "train conductor" know they were still on the correct path.  Lighting the way to freedom, the North Star in the lantern would show which way the railroad was heading.  To make your own Freedom Lantern you need to freeze a can full of water and a printout of the Big Dipper. Make sure you don't forget this important step or your can will end up being smashed in.  You need a large nail for the North Star and a smaller nail for the rest of the Big Dipper.

Using rubber bands secure your printout to your can.

 Turn it sideways and carefully hammer the large nail into the North Star and the small nail into the other stars.

Make sure an adult is present to help you, next remove the paper and rubber bands and run the can under warm water. The ice should easily fall out, dry the can but be very careful around the edge so you don't cut yourself. 

Next we attached wire handles and placed a small votive in the bottom.  Light your votive and place in a dark room.  Be very careful the tin cans get very hot and can burn you!

In the next couple of weeks our family will be traveling to see some Civil War sites and in November we're headed to a reenactment of the only Civil War battle in Oklahoma (was Indian Territory at that time).  We can't wait!

Thanks for reading,

PS I forgot to mention that we're still using Homeschool in the Woods' Time Traveler Series and we LOVE it.  For less than $30 it was well worth the money and I'm highly considering the purchase of the Industrial Revolution and WWII series.  If you've used them I'd love to hear what you thought!