Kids from Holy Rosary School at Boomerang Box launch. Photo by Don Wilson, Port of Seattle   On Thursday, October 23rd, 400 Seattle students and their teachers gathered at Terminal 5 on Seattle’s waterfront to say “Bon Voyage” to the Boomerang Box. The terminal, which is shipping company APL’s base of operations in the Northwest, bustled with activity. Containers were lifted on and off the “President Truman,” the massive container ship that had just arrived in port earlier that morning. Trucks and forklifts moved quickly between stacks of containers waiting to be loaded on the Truman or sent to other destinations on a truck or train.   In the middle of all this activity, the Boomerang Box sat and waited its turn to be loaded. It was filled with milk carton stock from the Potlatch Company, bound for Yokohama, Japan. While the students watched, Mike Lingerfelt, APL’s Port Manager, signaled to Lanny McGrew, the container crane operator perched high above the terminal, to load the box. Lanny inched his huge crane over to the Boomerang Box, lowered the hooks, grabbed it, and slowly and carefully lifted it up into the air and onto the ship. He placed the Boomerang Box atop another container on the Truman with a resounding thud. The ship’s captain sounded his horn. And the students from West Seattle High School, Concord Elementary, Pathfinder, Holy Rosary, and High Point Elementary cheered as the Boomerang Box began its expedition.   Boomerang Box being loaded by crane. Photo by Don Wilson, Port of Seattle   One of the speakers at the send-off, 10-year-old Thais Gray, had these thoughts:   “Hi, I’m Thais Gray from Concord Elementary School. I’m excited about this program for many reasons.   “The Boomerang Box is going to be a great way to learn geography. It will travel to different countries in the world. It is going to be very exciting to follow its expedition on a map or on the website.   “The box is also going to help us learn about trade. We don’t know what it will contain, but we might learn that there are a lot of everyday things that are carried in containers like this. It’s going to be fun to see if my clothes came from another side of the world.   “It is also going to be great to learn about different people from different countries. Maybe we can find out what people from different parts of the world like to eat and what they listen to, and what they read. Maybe we could also learn what they like to celebrate, and what they are doing to protect the environment.   Kids from Holy Rosary School at Boomerang Box launch. Photo by Don Wilson, Port of Seattle “As we use the Boomerang Box’s Web site, we will learn a lot about computers.   “The Boomerang Box is also a good way to meet other people in other schools. Maybe you could be a penpal with someone from a different continent.   “I’m excited that this container is decorated by kids I know. It will be fun to let people from other places see these drawings. When it goes to S.E. Asia, maybe some of our relatives will see the artwork done by Seattle kids.   “So, log on and learn facts about other countries, find out about trade, meet people from a different country on the Web site, and enjoy following the Boomerang Box.”   Home Journey Log Trade Topics People Profiles Index Ask the Eagle