Guest Blogger:  Tracy Crews

WALDPORT —On a frigid Saturday morning on the Oregon Coast, a group of over thirty educators from across the state huddled around a pool, gazing with pride at the underwater contraptions they had just created. From Port Orford to Seaside, teachers braved the icy roads to participate in a day long workshop designed to provide them with the skills they would need to teach their own students how to build Remotely Operated Vehicles or ROVs.

Waldport High School was the scene of this unique training which was supported by the Oregon Coast STEM Hub and the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center. During the day-long workshop, participants learned about the growing field of Marine Technology and how ROVs are being used off the Oregon Coast to monitor Marine Protected Areas (MPS), lay cable and install instruments for the Ocean Observing Initiative (OOI), and conduct research on deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Teachers then worked in small gro ups with seasoned mentors and students from Lincoln County, who shared their expertise and encouragement, as the new crop of teachers learned how to splice wires and solder circuit boards. According to Kama Almasi, a 7^th-12^th grade teacher in Waldport, “The kid-teachers were fabulous and inspiring!”

In addition to the hands-on training, participants in Saturday’s workshop received ROV kits to take back to their classrooms and use with their own students. The goal of the workshop being to engage hundreds of 6^th -12^th grade students in designing and building their own underwater robots. Each teacher who participated in the workshop will have the opportunity to bring their top 1 or 2 student teams to the Oregon Regional MATE ROV competition which will be held on the Oregon Coast in April of 2015. This statewide competition is one of 23 regional contests supported by the MATE Center and numerous other partners. Qualifying participants will earn the chance to represent Oregon at MATE’s International ROV Competition which will take place at the end of June in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

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