Teams Head to 2017 MATE ROV International Competition

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Cait Goodwin

Two Oregon teams will be competing with their student-built underwater robots at the International MATE ROV Competition held in Long Beach, California this weekend, June 23-25, 2017!

Lazarus Industries from Clatsop Community College will compete in the EXPLORER class. Read more
Finnovators from Newport High School will compete in the RANGER class. Below is information shared by the team:

Finnovators from Newport High School – Photo: A. Brown

Newport, OR – The “Finnovators” won the Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition held in Lincoln City on April 29th, and this week they will soon be headed to the International Competition in Long Beach, California. The Finnovators is one of the three robotics teams at Newport High School, and is composed of eight seniors. This will be the second consecutive year that the team has advanced to the international event.

At the regional competition, teams across Oregon demonstrated their ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) by completing underwater tasks. This included, among other challenges, retrieving contaminant data from the bottom of a pool, turning a valve, and disconnecting a power cable. Finally, the teams presented marketing and technical reports about their ROVs, and judges correspondingly asked questions. For the tasks and presentation, the teams were awarded points, and the Finnovators ended with the most.

The process culminating in this victory was arduous and required hundreds of hours. However, the result was a complex machine. The ROV features a claw, motors, cameras, and parts that were 3D-printed at Newport High School. The electronics of the ROV require two different coding languages, Python and Arduino, with code written by the team members.

The other two teams from Newport, the Cybernautics and Marine One, were also successful. These students were able to create their own ROVs for the competition, despite their lesser amount of experience. Further, these teams had some of the sophistication of the Finnovators, as they also used software code, 3D-printed components, and soldering. Like the Finnovators, the majority of the components for their ROVs were hand-made.

The Finnovators’ student-built ROV. Photo: G. Andrews

This demonstrates the benefits of the robotics teams: the robotics teams allows high school students of all ages and backgrounds to explore careers, learn teamwork and technical skills. As robotics is an extracurricular club, the teams do not receive funding from the school district.

Instead, the students fundraise a significant amount of their budget. However, this would not cover all of their expenses, which includes electronics, building materials, and traveling costs. Thus, the team has sponsors from companies and organizations such as Georgia Pacific, AUVSI, Siletz Tribe, Marine Tech Society, Sexton Marine, Oregon STEM hub, Figaro’s and Lincoln County. The team is also accepting donations to fund their trip to the international competition through a GoFundMe page, which can be found under the title “Send NHS ROV team to Internationals.”

___________________________________

Follow the action this weekend!

MATE ROV Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/materovcompetition/
Oregon Regional Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OregonRegionalMATEROV/

For more information about the MATE ROV program, visit the following websites:

MATE ROV website: https://www.marinetech.org/
Oregon Regional Site: http://oregon.marinetech2.org/

I4IGM Technology Club

Posted on April 9, 2017 by Cait Goodwin

Text and photos by Kathryn Harmon

balloon cars

Neah-Kah-Nie Middle School is home to the aptly named Institute for Idea Generation & Manufacturing, or I4IGM for short. This crew of 20+ students meets after school one day every week to explore amazing new technologies and make all sorts of things. Our website describes some of the goals for our club:

This club was formed with the goal of creating and building amazing things. We want to code, we want to print cool things on the 3D printer, we are enthusiastic about participating in the FIRST LEGO League Challenge.

This year we joined FIRST LEGO League and sent a team to competition. Now we are putting together teams that will compete next year.

Volunteer Mark Balmer is in his second year of volunteering for the Institute. If you want to know more about electronics, Mark is your man. Photo: K. Harmon

Volunteer Mark Balmer helps us learn about electronics.

We created and printed stickers on our Silhouette Cameo vinyl cutter. We learned to model 3D objects on 123D design. Learning to loft, revolve, and extrude our drawings was particularly exciting, and knowing these and other CAD terms will be helpful in high school and college. Our volunteer mentor Mark Balmer taught us to build circuits and program Arduinos, so we created a flashy poster for one of our school board members. The printed vinyl from our Silhouette Cameo also creates wonderful stencils for screen printing, and this Spring we will be printing our very own I4IGM t-shirts for every member.

3D printed guitar picks

Our 3D printer

Our STREAMlab is in a room adjacent to our library which is wonderful as it makes this space very much the heart of our school, and students can spread out and work in small groups to solve problems and build their ideas.

If you would like to keep up with us, visit us at our website: i4igm.wordpress.com.

———–
Kathryn Harmon is the Library Media Specialist for Neah-Kah-Nie Middle School, and coordinates the I4IGM Afterschool Technology Club. She also serves as her district’s liaison to the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.

Girls Explore STEM at GEMS Camp

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Cait Goodwin

By Tracy Crews

Thanks to a grant from Oregon State University’s Women’s Giving Circle and additional funding from the Oregon Coast STEM Hub,7th and 8th grade girls from coastal communities were able to attend Girls in Engineering and Marine Science (GEMS) at Hatfield Marine Science Center on March 10-11, 2017. This unique Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) camp is led by Oregon Sea Grant in partnership with the Oregon Coast Aquarium and is designed to bring together middle school girls from high poverty areas with female engineers and marine scientists who share their experiences and passion for STEM.

Activities for this two-day camp were led by female undergraduate and graduate students, and faculty from Oregon State University (OSU), as well as female marine scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Students developed teamwork, communication, and leadership skills throughout the program through collaborative, hands-on activities, and learned about what it is like to pursue a degree and career in engineering and marine related fields from mentors. In addition, participants got behind-the-scenes tours of the Hatfield Marine Science Center, the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and the NOAA research vessel Rainier.

Participants for this GEMS program included middle school girls from Astoria, Warrenton, Tillamook, Newport, Toledo, Waldport, and Coos Bay. Participants had the opportunity to engineer underwater robots and robotic arms, build light traps for sampling larval crabs and fish, and create prototypes of devices which could be used for disaster response. They also worked with NOAA biologists to collect biological samples and data from juvenile salmon, conducted bird surveys in the Yaquina Bay Estuary with an OSU seabird researcher, and identified larval organisms caught in their light traps with the help of an OSU zooplankton biologist. Additionally, GEMS participants spent the night in the shark tunnel at the Oregon Coast Aquarium with female husbandry and education staff where they learned about additional career options.

According to GEMS participants, they really enjoyed the “cool” hands-on activities and the interaction with OSU students and researchers. These students also reported that the program strengthened their interest in STEM and that they gained confidence and additional knowledge by participating in this program.

Tracy Crews works for Oregon Sea Grant as the Marine Education Manager, and she coordinates STEM Experiences for the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.

Students Demonstrate Power

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Cait Goodwin

Oregon Coast Students Demonstrate Their Power at Renewable Energy Competition

By Tracy Crews

Newport, OR — On Tuesday, February 28, 2017, elementary, middle, and high school students along the Oregon coast loaded up their posters and student-built devices and headed to Oregon State University’s (OSU) Hatfield Marine Science Center to participate in the annual Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge. This year, 220 students from Waldport, Newport, Toledo, Lincoln City, Tillamook and Knappa participated, bringing 75 wind, wave, and solar energy devices to display, test and be evaluated by engineering judges. For weeks prior to the competition, these students researched renewable energy, learned about existing and emerging technologies, then worked in teams to design and build their own working devices. The engineering judges were quite impressed with this year’s innovative designs and the students that created them.

With concerns that traditional energy sources are leading to climate change and other environmental issues, more countries, states and communities are exploring renewable options such as wind, solar, and wave energy to produce increasing amounts of power for our growing populations. The US Department of Energy recently announced Newport, Oregon as the site of a

$40 million open-water, grid-connected national wave energy testing facility. The facility will be constructed by the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center at Oregon State University and will support innovations in wave energy technologies capable of harnessing wave energy resources along our coastline.

Employment in the Renewable Energy sector is rapidly expanding and provides high wages jobs but requires Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) skills. Supported by OSU, Oregon Sea Grant, the Oregon Coast STEM Hub, and Georgia-Pacific, the Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge promotes the development of these STEM skills as students work in teams to research issues surrounding renewable energy, then design, construct, test, and refine their devices. Students then have the opportunity to convey to a panel of engineering judges their design process, challenges faced, and how they worked to overcome them. This year, twenty volunteers from OSU, Oregon Sea Grant, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Central Lincoln PUD helped to run the competition, evaluating student designs and testing devices in a large wind tunnel, wave tank, or under high wattage lights to determine power output.

Winners of this year’s Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge are listed below. Top wind teams from each age category are also invited to participate in the National KidWind Challenge in Anaheim, California on May 24-25, 2017. The national competition is being held in conjunction with the AWEA Windpower Conference and Exhibition, the largest gathering of wind industry professionals in the United States, where students will meet industry representatives, talk to professional engineers, and tour the trade show floor to see the latest and greatest in wind power.

Watch a video about the competition

2017 Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Winners:

Wave Energy

1st & 2nd Place- Elementary Crestview Heights School

1st Place- High School Waldport High School

2nd Place- High School Toledo High School

Solar Energy

1st Place- Elementary Sam Case Elementary

2nd Place- Elementary Toledo Elementary

1st Place- High School Waldport High School

2nd Place- High School Toledo High School

Wind Energy

1st Place- Elementary Toledo Elementary

2nd Place- Elementary Crestview Heights School

1st & 2nd Place- Middle School Waldport Middle School

1st Place- High School Waldport High School

2nd Place- High School Toledo High School

Based at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center, the Oregon Coast STEM Hub is one of eleven regional STEM Hubs funded by the Oregon Department of Education. With over 58 active partners, the Oregon Coast STEM Hub serves coastal teachers, students and communities along the Oregon coast, connecting them with regional resources and providing world-class STEM experiences.

For more information or to make a donation to support teams traveling to the national competition, please contact Tracy Crews at OregonCoastSTEM@oregonstate.edu.

Bandon HS Robotics team wins FTC Judges Award

Posted on January 31, 2017 by Cait Goodwin

West Coast Robotics team from Bandon High School

Guest Contributor: Martha Kemple

Congratulations to the Bandon High School Robotics Team, otherwise known in competition as West Coast Robotics 3.0. Team members Kyle Brown (Gr. 11) Austin Panter (Gr. 11), and Nick Turner (Gr.10) competed in the FIRST Tech Challenge Qualifying Tournament on Saturday, January 28, at Oregon State University and came in 7th out of 25 in the qualifying matches, made it to the semifinals, and qualified for the next round of competition in two weeks! The team also earned the Judges Award which is one that is not given very often, and is for a team who really impressed the judges outside of the usual award categories. The tournament director said she could only remember this award being given 5 or 6 times over the many years she has been involved in the program. A trophy will be forthcoming–this will be the 8th one for the team in 3.5 years!

West Coast Robotics readies their robot for competition

Martha Kemple teaches Robotics, Computer Applications, and Digital Photography at Bandon High School, and is Advisor for the Yearbook and the Robotics teams participating in FIRST Tech Challenge and the MATE ROV Competition. She also teaches Technology classes to 7th and 8th graders at Harbor Lights Middle School. She has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Portland State University and worked for the Bonneville Power Administration in various computer-related positions before earning a Master of Arts in Teaching from George Fox University. She has taught everything from second grade through college students.

Family Engineering Events on the Coast

Posted on December 5, 2016 by Cait Goodwin

By Emily Townsend

Warrenton

Bringing families together, the Oregon Coast STEM Hub hosted a Family STEM Night at Warrenton Elementary on November 15. The Hub is one of 11 regional organizations that promotes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The event was recreated down the coast that week in Toledo on November 16, and Coos Bay on November 17, reaching as many families and educators as possible. These events were a unique effort by the STEM Hub to bring professional development and family engagement into one fun-filled evening. Educators arrived early to learn the rationale and method of hosting a STEM night in their home school, and then were able to observe and interact firsthand during the subsequent family event. Teachers from kindergarten through high school attended, all with a common goal in mind; student and family engagement in underserved subjects. “As a teacher, we are focused on reading, writing, and math,” explains Astoria teacher Kendal Long. “It leaves so little time for science, so nights like this introduce what there isn’t always enough time to expose students to in the classroom.”

Coos Bay

The Oregon Coast STEM Hub serves schools from Astoria to Brookings in a partnership with Oregon State University, local community colleges, businesses, and nonprofits. It provides experiences for students and families to get excited and motivated about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.“We focus on educators so they can provide integrated, exciting, and contextual experiences for students,’ said Ruth McDonald of the STEM Hub. “We reach more students by being a resource for pre-K to college level classrooms.”

Warrenton

The speaker and host David Heil, author of Family Engineering, led the Family Engineering events. The goals of his program are to introduce engineering and science at an early age and to increase parents’ interest and ability to be involved in the learning, explaining that “we want to hit the sweet spot and start them early.”

McDonald agrees. “We all know interest starts in elementary; we need to lay a foundation.”

As for parents, David explains to teachers that they might see moms and dads shying away at first, but once they get comfortable, they dive right in. “It’s families together from start to finish” Heil explains. He has a goal for educators too, “…to walk out of here and say, ‘I can do that in my school’.”

Coos Bay

Application of the pedagogy began once families began to arrive to the Family Engineering Night event. Everyone started with warm-up activities that encouraged 21st century skills like problem solving, collaboration, and critical thinking. Next, families were given larger STEM tasks to solve together. “The hallmark of family engineering is teamwork,” said Heil.

The first task was to build the tallest tower out of chenille sticks. Heil explained, “We want everyone talking and designing, doing things they don’t always give themselves permission to do on their own time.” This task’s difficulty was compounded with interruptions by Heil, with prompts such as “Now there were cutbacks and you lost resources, how does that affect your plan for the tallest tower?” Next came outsourcing which led to a ban on verbal communication, and last the families were told they were “short-handed” and had to finish the task with one hand behind their back. After the success or failure of the towers, Heil led a discussion breaking down the challenge.

Toledo

“Does (the loss of materials) ever happen in real life?” Heil asked the group.

“No!” yell the students to the delight of their parents, who know the reality of setbacks in the workplace.

Overall, the students learned more with the support of their parents and everyone left with a better understanding of engineering and science and how it applies to them. When asked what they learned about engineering, the families responded, “It happens every day!”

Emily Townsend is an English Language Development teacher at Astor Elementary School in Astoria, OR. She participated in the November 15, 2016 “Family Engineering” professional development training and family event held at Warrenton Elementary. The Family Engineering series was held in Warrenton, Toledo and Coos Bay, and was made possible by the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.

Day Three on the R/V Oceanus

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Cait Goodwin

By Tracy Crews

Internet access from the R/V Oceanus has been inconsistent, but education PI Tracy Crews has been able to send in some photos and observations via social media. Here are some of her observations, sprinkled with links to other blogs from other participants:

Our last day out at sea started with deploying the CTD in the Astoria Canyon in the dark. Our marine mammal surveys got off to a slow start but we were seeing a lot of jellyfish, juvenile sunfish, seabirds, and even some tuna. All of a sudden on the horizon emerged a large pod of Pacific white-sided Dolphins (40+) that started riding the bow of the research vessel. Before they had even departed, a large pod (30+) of finless Northern right whale Dolphins joined them. What a sight to behold!

***

The researchers from OSU’s Marine Mammal Institute estimated that we saw over 400 Pacific white-sided dolphins and Northern right whale dolphins today in addition to the numerous humpback whales we encountered. Another amazing day out at sea with Oregon coastal teachers and students!

***

What an amazing cruise it has been! Everyone soaked up the sun on the flying bridge as we made our way into the Columbia River where we dropped off our chief scientist and OSU graduate students before making our way to Portland where we will engage in two days of outreach activities. Our captain used a small boat to shuttle the researchers into Astoria so they can return to work tomorrow. Getting the science party and all their gear off the ship proved to be quite an ordeal involving a crane, step ladder, rope ladder and half the ship’s crew! We were sad to see them go and just a little jealous of their ride in the red rocket. We are grateful to them all for generously giving their time to share their knowledge and passion with us.

To learn more about these amazing researchers, read Ms. Almasi’s blog post “Spotlight on the Scientists”

***

We experienced a gorgeous evening steaming up the Columbia River towards Portland on the R/V Oceanus!

Day Two on the R/V Oceanus

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Cait Goodwin

By Tracy Crews

Day Two of our oceanographic cruise started with us once again surrounded by humpback whales feeding. In addition we have seen more seal lions and flocks of seabirds including some black footed albatross. Our teachers and students continue to shine as they deployed and retrieved another CTD (to measure Conductivity, Temperature and Depth) and collected and entered survey data into the computer on the fly bridge. Unfortunately, the weather turned overcast and chilly today forcing us all to bundle up.

Visit the GEMM lab blog to find out more about the marine mammals and birds encountered on Day Two.

Students and teachers have spent some of their downtime on the R/V Oceanus decorating styrofoam cups to send down to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Here are a couple of photos of the process.

Decorating the cups

The decorated cups were attached to the CTD that was about to be deployed.

Read Ms. Almasi’s blog about the science behind the styrofoam cup experiment

We used two sizes of cups. This photo shows the difference in size before (center) and after (sides) the cups were sent to the deep ocean.

Dr. Leigh Torres shows what the bag of cups looked like when they returned to the surface

The styrofoam cups made it back from their journey to deep, 1400 meters to the sea floor attached to the CTD.

The sunset was a glorious ending to a great day. Although we didn’t see as many whales today as yesterday, we did see numerous humpbacks, a couple of fin whales, some Dalls porpoises, and some Pacific white-sided dolphins, as well as some sea lions, albatross, and ocean sunfish (mola-mola). We have left the waters off Heceta Head and will be making our way towards Astoria Canyon overnight. Sweet dreams to everyone aboard and on land!

Tracy Crews is the PI for the “Shipboard Experiences on the R/V Oceanus” research cruise, the Marine Education Manager for Oregon Sea Grant at Hatfield Marine Science Center, and the STEM Programs Coordinator for the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.

Day One on the R/V Oceanus

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Cait Goodwin

By Tracy Crews

Huge pod of humpback whales put on quite a show for us lunge feeding and breaching. What a great way to end our first day at sea.

A huge group of humpback whales put on quite a show for us lunge feeding and breaching. What a great way to end our first day at sea!

What was Day One on the R/V Oceanus like for the students, teachers, and researchers on board?

Knot tying, safety at sea, deploying and retrieving scientific instruments, interpreting data, conducting effort surveys, and photo identification of whales….

…these are just a few things that teachers and students on board OSU’s research vessel Oceanus put into practice yesterday on the first day of a three day research cruise off the Oregon coast. Before even leaving the dock, participants started their training, learning about shipboard technology and donning survival suits during safety drills. Crossing the bar, we spotted the first marine mammals of the day: a few gray whales and California sea lions. During this cruise, teachers and students will get an in depth look at how researchers identify, track, and study marine mammals in Oregon waters and beyond, and how baththymetry and oceanographic conditions influence the distribution of these animals.

14359043_10154616299008825_2083188740617973895_n

A humpback whale blows at the surface.

As the first day of the cruise progressed and we passed over Stonewall Bank, we spotted a small pod of humpback whales. As we transmitted south, we also encountered a pod of orcas. The grande finale of the day came early sunset when a large group of humpback whales (approximately 50) was spotted near Heceta Bank. They were lunge feeding, opening their huge mouths and taking in water and, presumably, lots of food. A plankton tow confirmed the presence of krill, which is a favorite prey item for humpbacks.

When we came across a huge group of humpback whales, we decided to take a plankton tow and found it chocked with krill.

With a final debriefing at 8:30 pm, teachers and students wandered off to their shared quarters excited but exhausted with a greater understanding of marine mammals and an appreciation for how hard researchers work. It was a great start to what we hope will be a successful experience for everyone!

****

Hear from others on board about what they thought about the first day of the cruise:

R/V Oceanus Day One: Hungry, Hungry Humpbacks from the GEMM Lab – OSU graduate students Florence Sullivan and Amanda Holdman describe the day with some great photos of whales contributed by Chief Scientist Leigh Torres.

Of Whale Poop and Shearwaters – Waldport High School teacher describes what is was like to watch humpbacks lunge feed, and what she learned about the color of whale poop.

WEBCAM
What does it look like from the bow of the R/V Oceanus right now? Visit the webcam here: http://webcam.oregonstate.edu/oceanus

Shipboard experience on the R/V Oceanus

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Cait Goodwin

Three Oregon high school teachers are among the participants working on the R/V Oceanus this week.

This week, students and teachers from the Oregon Coast STEM Hub are joining Oregon State University scientists aboard the research vessel Oceanus to gain at-sea research experience. The project, “Building the STEM Pipeline through Oceangoing Research and Near-Peer Mentoring” is a collaborative effort that aims to enhance critical STEM skills among coastal learners.

Read the OSU press release

The R/V Oceanus departed this morning from Newport and is headed for Astoria and Portland. Tracy Crews gives this report of their departure:

We couldn’t have asked for better weather as we departed Newport on our cruise offshore to conduct marine mammal and seabird surveys and collect oceanographic data. My first cruise as PI (Principal Investigator), we have 3 high school teachers, 4 high school students, an undergraduate student and 3 graduate students working with our chief scientist from OSU’s Marine Mammal Institute. We got our first glimpse of marine mammals (sea lions and gray whales) crossing the bar and have successfully completed our first CTD. A few seasick folks but otherwise we are off to a fantastic start!

Through this blog and the Oregon Coast STEM Hub Facebook page, you can keep track of the vessel’s progress, the STEM activities taking place on board, and even occasionally hear from the participants themselves. The following teachers and students are on board, representing several different regions within the Oregon Coast STEM Hub:

Coast high school and undergraduate students on board the R/V Oceanus

Coast high school and undergraduate students boarded the R/V Oceanus this morning for a 3 day research cruise

Martha Kemple – teacher, Bandon High School
Matthew Perry – student, North Bend High School
Kama Almasi – teacher, Waldport High School
Etasha Golden – undergraduate OSU (Waldport HS grad)
Leland Wood – student, Newport High School
Natalie DeWitt – student, Newport High School
Josh Jannusch – teacher, Warrenton High School
Charlotte Watkins – student, Warrenton High School

Teacher Kama Almasi has a blog that she is using to connect back with her students at Waldport High School. Her first entry focuses on the colorful science of seasickness, but we hope no one will be collecting THAT kind of data on this trip!

RESEARCH
On their first day at sea, the students and teachers have been working with researchers and crew members to deploy and retrieve CTDs. These instruments collect conductivity, temperature and depth data to provide a profile of the water column.

WHERE IS THE R/V OCEANUS?
Track the R/V Oceanus on websites such as www.marinetraffic.com. Type in the vessel’s special number “7603617” into the search engine, and you can find out the ship’s location, travel pattern and other information.

Stay tuned and follow along to find out what this group will be doing next!

The R/V Oceanus will be in Portland by September 16th, and will offer a variety of outreach activities for the public, teachers and students while the vessel is in port. For more information, read the OSU press release or contact OregonCoastSTEM@oregonstate.edu.

Oregon Coast STEM Hub

Fostering Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Futures on the Oregon Coast

Category Archives: Student Experiences

Teams Head to 2017 MATE ROV International Competition

I4IGM Technology Club

Girls Explore STEM at GEMS Camp

Students Demonstrate Power

Oregon Coast Students Demonstrate Their Power at Renewable Energy Competition

2017 Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Winners:

Wave Energy

Solar Energy

Wind Energy

Bandon HS Robotics team wins FTC Judges Award

Family Engineering Events on the Coast

Day Three on the R/V Oceanus

Day Two on the R/V Oceanus

Day One on the R/V Oceanus

Shipboard experience on the R/V Oceanus