Ernest Starker, age 12, of Hutchinson, Kan., for his question:

IS THERE REALLY A PLYMOUTH ROCK?

Near the sea's edge not far from Plymouth, Mass., is a large granite boulder with the date ^1620" carved on it. According to a popular story, the Pilgrims on the Mayflower stepped ashore on this very rock when they landed in America on Dec. 21, 1620.

There's no question about the rock. There really is a rock called the Plymouth Rock.

But many historians doubt that the Pilgrims actually stepped on that rock. It is more likely, these historians say, that the rock was near the spot where the Pilgrims landed.

In 1920, Plymouth Rock was moved from the beach to its present location. There it stands under a large granite canopy, a memorial to the courage of the Pilgrims.

The granite canopy bears the inscription "Erected by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America to Commemorate the Three Hundredth Anniversary of the Landing of the Pilgrims."

The Pilgrim's ship, the Mayflower, took 66 days to travel from Plymouth, England, to Cape Cod. The ship was probably about 90 feet long. There were 102 passengers aboard.