Category Archives: STEM education

COASTALearning Symposium Oct. 9-10

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NEWPORT – Oregon Sea Grant and the Oregon Coast STEM Hub are partnering with the Oregon Coast Aquarium and Lincoln County School District to run the annual COASTALearning Symposium in Newport on October 9 and 10.

This professional development event is expected to reach 350 teachers and administrators on the Oregon Coast and focuses on using marine science and coastal natural resources as a context for learning across grades and subjects.  Breakout sessions include topics such as Marine Debris, Fish Habitat and Passage, Ocean Engineering, Watershed Studies, Stewardship Projects, and more.

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Teacher workshops on coastal STEM education

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Oregon Sea Grant and the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME) invite classroom teachers to the Oregon Coast for two in-depth, hands-on workshops exploring the practice of science in a diversity of coastal habitats, designed to equip them with “best practices” in coastal and marine STEM education.

Topics for the workshops, which are sponsored by the Oregon Coast Education Project and take place in June, July and August in Newport and Charleston, include coastal ecology and habitats, impacts and solutions including climate connections, working with data sets and making connections to their own schools.

Registration, which covers the three-day workshops, lodging, meals and materials, is through  NAME, whose current members receive a discount on registration fees. Continuing education credits are available through Portland State University.

A workshop for 3d-8th grade classroom educators takes place in Newport, June30-July 2; the workshop for 6th-12th-grade educators is scheduled for Charleston Aug. 13-15.

Registration includes post-workshop support from OCEP staff as teachers develop and implement coastal education plans during the 2014-15 school year. Teachers who opt to implement such plans are required to complete an evaluation and will receive a stipend at the conclusion of the school year. CEP will also hold small, regional group work sessions during the school year for workshop participants to help integrate other teaching partners who were unable to attend a summer session.

Registration may be completed at the NAME Website.

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Invasive species aide named OSU Student Leader

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Jennifer LamJennifer Lam, an Oregon State University graduate student who has been part of Oregon Sea Grant’s aquatic invasive species team since 2009, has been named one of OSU’s Outstanding Student Leaders for 2014 by the OSU Women’s Center.

The award will be presented as part of the Women’s Center’s annual awards program on Monday, May 19 from 2:30-4:30 pm.

Lam, who is working on a master’s degree in Marine Resource Management, was nominated by her Sea Grant supervisors for her “outstanding initiative and leadership in helping us educate the public about the ecosystem threats posed by invasive animals and plants.”

Since coming to Sea Grant as a PROMISE intern, she has worked with the program’s watershed and invasive species team led by specialist Sam Can, developing k-12 curricula and public information guides, producing Congressional briefing papers as part of a multi-state legislative framework for controlling the spread of highly invasive mussels by recreational boaters, and conducting her own research into the problem of household pharmaceuticals winding up in the public water supply through improper disposal. Among the products she developed for the program is a classroom “pet pledge” – available in English and Spanish – to educate k-12 teachers and students about how classroom science “pets” can become invasive if released into the wild.

As an undergraduate, Lam served as event coordinator for the MU Program Council, receiving a 2010 award for her work; as a graduate student, she serves as a representative to the Student Advisory Committee of the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences.

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ROV teams compete for regional honors

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Taft High School ROV team launches Ocean's Hope at 2013 competitionLINCOLN CITY – —More than 150 elementary, middle school, high school and college students in 27 teams bring their underwater robots to the Lincoln City Community Center on May 10 to compete in the annual Oregon Regional MATE Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) contest. The event is free and open to the public.

The teams, which have spent the past few months designing and building the underwater vehicles, join students around the world participating in 23 regional contests supported by the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center. Qualifying participants will earn the chance to advance to MATE’s International ROV Competition June 26 – 28, at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Michigan.

Coordinated by Oregon Sea Grant, the Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition encourages students from Astoria to Bandon and Bend to The Dalles, to develop and apply science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills as they work collaboratively to create working ROVs—tethered underwater robots used in ocean exploration, scientific research, and marine technology industries—to complete missions that simulate real-world tasks.

This year’s competition is thematically organized around the role of ROVs in exploring and documenting shipwrecks and conserving national maritime heritage sites such as the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, where more than 50 shipwrecks are submerged. The competition helps students understand how chemical, biological and physical conditions can affect such archaeological sites.

Competing teams participating will perform a variety of underwater mission tasks, piloting their ROVs to identify a simulated shipwreck, collect microbial samples, inventory invasive species and remove debris. Students are challenged to think like entrepreneurs and form companies that develop creative solutions for engineering and constructing an ROV to document and explore a newly discovered wreck site. During the process, the students develop the teamwork, creative thinking and problem solving skills that make them competitive in today’s global workplace. The project requires them to solve problems in new and innovative ways, work as part of a team and understand all aspects of business operations—important 21st century skills.

Teams from the following schools and organizations are participating in the competition: Bandon High School, Cheldelin Middle School (Corvallis), Clatsop Community College (Astoria), Eddyville Charter School, Life Christian School (Aloha), Linn-Benton Community College (Albany), Meek Pro Tech High School (Portland), Oregon State University (Corvallis), Summit High School (Bend),,Taft 7-12 (Lincoln City), Tahola Middle School (Tahola, WA), The Dalles High School, Toledo Elementary, Toledo Jr/Sr High School, Waldport High School and Wasco County 4-H.

The Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition is supported by many sponsors, including Oregon State University, the Oregon Coast Regional STEM Center, Lincoln County School District, the Marine Technology Society-Oregon Chapter, the Siletz Charitable Contribution Fund, the Cascade Chapter of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, and Tanger Outlet Mall. Local marine technology professionals and engineers volunteer as judges for the competition, evaluating the students’ ROVs, poster displays, and engineering presentations. Numerous other volunteers donate their time each year, serving as divers and support staff for the competition, making it a community-wide effort.

For more information,  contact Tracy Crews at OregonCoastSTEM@oregonstate.edu.

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