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!

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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!

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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”

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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.

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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!

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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.

Waldport Senior Awarded Scholarship

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Cait Goodwin

Waldport Senior Awarded $2000 Ocean Steward Scholarship

The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport holds its annual Ocean Steward Celebration fundraiser in Portland every spring, and this year marked the inaugural presentation of the Schlesinger-Thrasher Ocean Steward Scholarship. The $2000 scholarship is the brainchild of Ken Thrasher and Barry Schlesinger, dedicated Aquarium board members impressed and inspired by the Aquarium’s educational programs. “They saw an opportunity to link the Aquarium’s efforts with the broader educational community,” said Caryl Zenker, the Aquarium’s Vice President of Development, who organizes the event.

“The Aquarium’s amazing volunteers and staff support the inquisitive minds of young people, and spur their interests in the sciences,” said Ken Thrasher. “The Schlesinger-Thrasher scholarship will help enable a student to take their interests in marine science to a higher level in college, and hopefully to a career in the science field.”

This year’s scholarship recipient is Waldport High School senior and aquarium youth volunteer Etasha Golden. Etasha started in the aquarium’s Youth Program in 2015, volunteering more than 150 hours over the course of the summer. This year she is returning to the youth program as an interpreter as well as crew chief, a leadership role in which she mentors, guides and supervises her fellow youth volunteers.

Next year Etasha is planning to attend Oregon State University and study engineering. When she entered the youth volunteer program she was unsure of which field in engineering she wanted to study, but her experiences as an Aquarium youth volunteer have helped steer her toward environmental, oceanographic and humanitarian engineering. She is particularly interested in wave energy and the use of underwater robots, and looks forward to expanding upon her passion for the ocean in college.

The Schlesinger-Thrasher scholarship is tailored toward local students pursuing a college degree, particularly those involved with the Aquarium’s volunteer programs. Potential honorees are asked to describe how volunteering for the Aquarium impacted them personally, and how the experience will help further their goals.

Congratulations Etasha!

The Oregon Coast Aquarium is a partner in the Oregon Coast STEM Hub, and offers marine-focused STEM experiences for youth and adults through its exhibits, education programs, teacher resources, online Oceanscape Network, and volunteer programs.

2016 Oregon MATE ROV Competition

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Cait Goodwin

Students Dive into STEM in Statewide Underwater Robotics Competition

May 3, 2016 – North Bend High School and the North Bend Municipal Pool were overflowing with SCUBA divers and underwater robots last Saturday for the 5^th Annual Oregon Regional Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Competition. Over 200 elementary, middle school, high school, and college students from across Oregon took part in the event, as teams launched their underwater robots in an effort to take top honors in the region and advance to the 15^th Annual International MATE ROV Competition, which will be held at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston, Texas at the end of June.

Sponsored by the Oregon Coast STEM Hub, a collaborative effort of over 60 coastal partners, this competition is an annual event that encourages students to learn and apply Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skills as they develop underwater robots – also known as ROVs – to complete missions that simulate real-world problems from the ocean workplace.

Forty-one student teams from Warrenton, Tillamook, Lincoln City, Newport, Toledo, Waldport, Florence, Bandon, North Bend, Corvallis, Albany, Aloha and The Dalles participated in the day-long event.

Saturday’s competition was one of 26 regional MATE ROV competitions that are held annually around the world that feed into the International MATE ROV Competition. The competition theme changes every year, and this year’s theme highlights technologies that are developed for exploration and scientific use in both ocean and space environments. For example, in the ocean-themed missions, students used their ROVs to collect oil samples and coral specimens. The space-based missions challenged students to pilot their ROVs under the ice sheet of Jupiter’s moon Europa to collect data and deploy instrumentation. The student teams were also required to present posters detailing their ROV design and construction, and provide an engineering presentation for judges.

This year, the Oregon Regional Competition was supported by Oregon Sea Grant (OSG), the MATE Center, the Marine Technology Society (MTS), the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), The Sexton Corporation, Georgia Pacific Foundation, and Oregon State University. Over 40 volunteers from these and other organizations helped run the competition, served as mission and engineering judges, and provided dive support.

The two advanced-level college teams participating in the Explorer Class division demonstrated their ROVs to the younger students, and some of the team members served as volunteers helping to run the day’s events. Explorer teams are not required to compete at the Regional level for entry into the International competition, but they do have to submit video evidence of their ROV’s capabilities to qualify. The list of qualifying Explorer teams will be released by the MATE Center on May 15^th.

Of the thirty-nine remaining teams that competed in Saturday’s event, 15 competed in the beginner-level Scout Class, 15 competed in the intermediate-level Navigator Class, and nine competed in the upper-level Ranger Class. The top team in the Ranger Class, “Finnovators” from Newport High School, will advance to the MATE International Competition to represent Oregon. The International Competition will involve top Ranger and Explorer teams from around the world and will be held at NASA Johnson Space Center’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston, Texas June 23-25, 2016.

Winners of the 2016 Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition are:

RANGER CLASS

1st Place – Finnovators, from Newport High School – Newport, OR
2nd Place – Zalophus Systems from Life Christian School – Aloha, OR
3rd Place – Taft Tech from Taft 7-12 High School – Lincoln City, OR

NAVIGATOR CLASS

1st Place – West Coast Robotics from Bandon High School – Bandon, OR
2nd Place – Zalotech from Life Christian School – Aloha, OR
3rd Place – Neptune’s Nightmare from Taft 7-12 High School – Lincoln City, OR

SCOUT CLASS

1st Place – Zalora Industries from Life Christian School – Aloha, OR
2nd Place – Coherence Robotics from Bandon High School – Bandon, OR
3rd Place – Irish ROVs from Crestview Heights School – Waldport, OR

JUDGES’ CHOICE AWARDS

Team Spirit Award – R.U.W.E. from Taft 7-12 High School – Lincoln City, OR
Best Poster Award – Zalophus Systems from Life Christian School – Aloha, OR

Finnovators from Newport High School 2016 1st place Ranger Class

The Finnovators from Newport High School placed 1st in the Ranger Class and received seed money from local industry to help defray costs of their travel to the International Competition in Houston

See more photos on Facebook

Free Earthquake Camp for Girls

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Cait Goodwin

By Central Oregon Coast National Organization for Women

There will be a whole lot of shaking going on for Lincoln County middle school age girls this July, thanks to the Central Oregon Coast NOW Foundation with funding from the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund! This FREE three day Earthquake Camp will be held at the Oregon Coast Community College North Campus in Lincoln City from Monday through Wednesday, July 18 to 20, 2016, 10 am to 3 pm.

This is a chance for girls to explore the world of earthquakes, how they are created, how scientists record and study them, and how engineers work to help reduce their impact on human lives. A number of exciting hands on activities and experiments are sure to catch the enthusiasm of those girls who attend the camp. An important part of learning about earthquakes is understanding the hazards earthquakes present. The girls will learn how buildings can “resonate” in an earthquake. They will also learn how liquefaction occurs, and how engineers strengthen buildings to make them more resilient to earthquake shaking. The girls will even build their own working seismometer using basic skills in engineering and electronics!

The camp will wrap up by teaching the girls the steps to take to make sure that they and their families are safe. They will build an earthquake/tsunami preparedness “go-bag” that they will be taking home, along with the seismometer that they made.

The camp is open to all Lincoln County middle school age girls. There are a limited number of openings, so girls should register NOW. Applications for the camp are available at http://oregonshakes.com/camp/QuakeCampApplication.pdf .

Girls and women are dramatically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). It is during the middle school years that girls’ participation and interest in these subjects tends to falter. It is hoped that by giving them the opportunity to participate in a fun and engaging Earthquake Camp, led by women role models, it will peak their interest in STEM subjects. The Camp will provide Central Oregon Coast middle school girls with the opportunity to explore the world of earthquakes using skills in engineering, geology and math.

Teaching the class will be Kay Wyatt, a widely published and award winning exploration geophysicist with over 30 years of experience in exploration seismology. Wyatt, who has two engineering degrees, has an uncanny knack of explaining complicated subjects in an easy to understand and entertaining way. Since retiring, Ms. Wyatt has spent the last fourteen years working in earthquake and tsunami outreach on the coast of Oregon, fulfilling her lifelong dream of bringing the world of science to children. Founding Oregon Shakes in 2004, Kay installs working seismograph stations in schools and after school programs in Lincoln County. Kids of all ages can see earthquakes from around the world arrive on their seismographs, encouraging them to learn about coastal geology as well as a taste of science, math and engineering. Ms. Wyatt will be an exceptional role model to young girls who may someday be the scientists and engineers of the future.

For more information about Earthquake Camp, please call Jan Eisele at 503-965-9950, or email centraloregoncoastnow@gmail.com.

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The Central Oregon Coast Chapter of the National Organization for Women is an active partner in the Oregon Coast STEM Hub. Its members serve on the Steering Committee as STEM Competition judges and STEM mentors, and the organization supports student experiences in STEM that target girls. In addition to the Earthquake Camp described in this article, Central Oregon Coast NOW has supported the 2015 GEMS camp (Girls in Engineering and Marine Science) and a scholarship for an all-girls team competing in the 2015 Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition.

Renewable Energy Challenge

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Cait Goodwin

Creative wind turbine designs

NEWPORT – Hatfield Marine Science Center will be hosting the third annual Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge on Tuesday, April 19th from 10 am to 2 pm. Over 200 3rd through 12th grade students from Warrenton, Seaside, Tillamook, Toledo and Waldport will bring their student built wind, wave, and solar energy devices to compete for top honors at this year’s competition. In addition to testing their devices in wave tanks, solar tracks and in a wind tunnel, teams will interact with a panel of engineering judges who will further rate teams on knowledge and design innovation. Students will also have the opportunity to hear about current research on potential impacts of offshore wind energy devices, and participate in HMSC’s Sustainability Quest, an educational clue-directed hunt.

This year’s Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge is made possible by support from the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund, Georgia-Pacific Foundation, Oregon Sea Grant, Oregon State University, and the Oregon Coast STEM Hub. Teams with top wind energy devices will be invited to participate in the National KidWind Challenge which will take place in New Orleans at the end of May.

Engineering judges interview a student

Engineering judges interview a student

Tsunami Quest Education

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Cait Goodwin

On Tuesday, March 29^th, more than 100 seventh graders from Newport Middle School spent the day at Hatfield Marine Science Center learning about tsunamis. The day was the first of three visits the students will make to HMSC this spring as they work to create an interpretive clue-directed “Tsunami Quest” for the public. The Tsunami Quest project is made possible with the help of many community partners and volunteers, and we were fortunate to have terrific sunshine throughout this first field trip.

Exploring tsunami inundation maps

Through outdoor explorations and hands-on labs, the students learned about earthquake and tsunami safety, and discovered what to do if a local earthquake were to occur at HMSC. Oregon Sea Grant Coastal Hazard Specialist Pat Corcoran kicked off the day in Hennings Auditorium with a lively presentation about tsunami safety, and then the students rotated through learning stations in smaller groups. Oregon State Parks staff and volunteers led students on outdoor Quests at HMSC in the morning, and in the afternoon they guided students on a walk up to the top of Safe Haven Hill. A geologist from DOGAMI led a session on using and interpreting tsunami inundation maps, and Sea Grant educators helped students model the effects of seismic activity on wet sand in a “Liquefaction Lab”. At another station, the 12 and 13 year olds worked with their math teacher to measure their speed of travel under various conditions. At the end of the day, the students were given ideas about how to turn their learning and expertise into an educational Quest.

Calculating rates of speed

The Oregon Coast Quests education program has been providing outdoor experiences for youth and families since 2007. Quests are self-guided, clue-directed hunts that get people outside learning about place, community and local issues. Participants use maps and written directions to navigate through an outdoor space, collecting clues that lead to the discovery of a hidden Quest box. As they travel, explorers learn about the natural and cultural treasures of place as their attention is drawn to details in the environment that may have otherwise been overlooked. Topics of interpretive focus range from watershed and estuarine habitats, to the commercial fishing industry and coastal settlement history. Quest clues and boxes stay in place throughout the year, and maps and directions for active Quests are distributed to the public through The Oregon Coast Quests Book. The book is published every two years, and select individual Quests are given away by site hosts or made available for free download online. Audiences impacted by Quests include not only the more than 1,000 people who go on Quests each year, but also the youth groups and other community members who create Quests for others.

Liquefaction Lab

The learning behind Tsunami Quest-building project is interdisciplinary. Students are learning about the science of earthquakes and tsunamis, exploring engineering as they participate in OSU’s Tsunami Structure Challenge, and using mathematics to calculate speed of evacuation. They are also using writing and art to convey information.

The new Tsunami Quest will begin at the front doors of the Sea Grant-operated HMSC Visitor Center, which is located in a tsunami inundation zone and attracts 150,000 visitors annually. The 7^th graders will visit HMSC again on April 12th when they will start the writing process. Their finished Quest will be ready to test on younger students by the end of the school year, and then it will be made available to the public and to school groups visiting HMSC.

Following this pilot project, Oregon State Parks and other partners plan to work with students in other coastal areas to create additional site-specific Tsunami Quests. This engaging learning activity will not only inform the public about tsunami safety at Quest sites, but also support a cultural shift toward increased public awareness of tsunami risk and response at all coastal locations.

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Cait Goodwin is the Coordinator of the Oregon Coast Quests program at Oregon Sea Grant. She is also the Communications Coordinator for the Oregon Coast STEM Hub. For more information about Quests or this project, visit http://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/quests, “like” the Quests Facebook page, or contact Cait at cait.goodwin@oregonstate.edu

Underwater Robotics

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Cait Goodwin

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 4^th, 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 4^th 1:00pm – Student presentation
Download a flyer
March 4^th 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 27^th 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 25^th 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/