How are gliders and remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) used to explore the ocean? What skills are needed to build and operate an underwater robot? Over the next several weeks, students, educators and community members will have the opportunity to find out the answers to these questions by engaging in one or more of the following STEM learning experiences on the Oregon coast:
LECTURES
Hear Dr. Stahr on March 4th at SWOCC in Coos Bay
Coming up on March 4th, Dr. Fritz Stahr will be giving two presentations at Southwestern Oregon Community College in Coos Bay. The first presentation, “My Other Vehicle is Unmanned”, will be held at 1:00pm and is geared toward students who are interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. This is a great field trip opportunity for STEM classes and robotics teams! Dr. Stahr will talk about real ocean gliders, SeaGlide vehicles, and ROVs. The talk is FREE and will last about one hour. Later in the evening, Dr. Stahr will give a second presentation geared toward the general public that covers similar themes. His talk, “Where the Wild and Robotic Things Are”, is part of the SWOCC Geology Lecture Series, and is also the keynote address for the Sharing the Coast Conference taking place March 4-6. Dr. Stahr’s lecture is FREE to all, and you do not need to be registered for the conference to attend. For more information about these lectures, contact Ron Metzger at 541-888-7216.
SeaGlide vehicle
Make your plans today:
- March 4th 1:00pm – Student presentation
Download a flyer - March 4th 7:00pm – Public presentation
Download a flyer * More information
WORKSHOP
Learning how to build an underwater glider
Hearing from Dr. Stahr will surely be of interest to the 28 educators who have registered to take part in the SeaGlide Educator Workshop on February 27th at Hatfield Marine Science Center. In this hands-on training, middle and high school teachers will find out how underwater gliders are being used in ocean research, and then they will learn how to build model gliders with their students. The workshop is made possible by LADC-GEMM (LIttoral Acoustic Demonstration Center – Gulf Ecological Monitoring and Modeling), NOAA PMEL (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration – Pacific Marine Environmental Lab) Acoustics program, and Oregon Sea Grant. Although the February workshop is full, the Oregon Coast STEM Hub hopes to be able to arrange a similar workshop in the future.
COMPETITION
Students throughout the state are currently gearing up for the annual Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition which will be held on April 30, 2016 in North Bend. Students ranging from middle school to college age are learning and applying STEM skills as they build ROVs to complete missions that simulate real challenges in ocean and space environments. The theme for this year’s competition is “From the Gulf of Mexico to Jupiter’s Moon Europa: ROVs Exploring Inner and Outer Space” and the full competition manuals for each of the four classes can be accessed through regional website. Registration is now open, and lead Instructors are encouraged to register their teams as soon as possible at http://oregon.marinetech2.org/registration. Qualifying teams from the Ranger and Explorer classes will advance to the International Competition held June 23-25, 2016 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center – Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston, Texas. The growing Oregon Regional event reaches hundreds of students, and there are many opportunities for STEM partners to volunteer as judges, divers, or scorekeepers on April 30th. For more information, contact Tracy Crews at OregonCoastSTEM@oregonstate.edu.
Check out these blog posts from last year’s competition:
- April 24, 2015 – April 25th ROV Competition
- April 28, 2015 – MATE ROV: A Teacher’s Reflection
- June 18, 2015 – MATE International ROV Competition
- November 19, 2015 – ROV Displayed at Aquarium
Students compete with their ROVs at the Regional Competition
The lectures, workshops and competitions described above are all listed on the Oregon Coast STEM Hub website, along a plethora of other STEM-related resources and opportunities. Find out what is going on in your area, and how you and your family, students and coworkers can get involved in STEM learning on the Oregon coast.
http://oregoncoaststem.oregonstate.edu/
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