The 2016 Newport Schools Science Fair was a huge success!  More than 1,000 people attended the three hour event at Hatfield Marine Science Center on Thursday, January 21st, where 150 student displays representing the work of more than 800 students in grades K-5 filled the Visitor Center and staff lounge. A variety of plants, aquatic habitats, engineering models and other materials accompanied the displays, and the students used writing, math, and art to communicate their discoveries. One class even performed a play to share what they knew about plankton behavior. Students, families, mentors, teachers, school administrators, HMSC staff and others from the community had a chance to view all the displays and talk to young scientists about their discoveries. It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm from everyone involved!

This year was the largest Science Fair yet. Every K-5 classroom in Newport participated in Science Fair this year, which adds up to 33 classrooms and 35 amazing teachers. Thanks very much to the 44 people who served as Science Mentors, making regular visits to classrooms at Yaquina View and Sam Case schools to assist students with their investigations. Science Mentors shared their enthusiasm for science, and helped the students see themselves as scientists.

This year, mentors came from:  The Bureau of Land Management – Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, Central Lincoln Peoples Utility District, Central Oregon Coast Chapter of the National Organization for Women, City of Newport, Lincoln County School District, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Marine Operations Center – Pacific, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, and Ship Bell M. Shimada), Oregon Coast Aquarium, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, Oregon State University (Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies, Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon Sea Grant), OSU Master Gardeners, Pacific West Ambulance, Sea Gypsy Research, United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service, and United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Thank you also to all the science mentors, HMSC Visitor Center Staff and Volunteers who helped set up and run the Science Fair event. We couldn’t have done it without you! Finally, we are grateful for the continued support from Oregon Sea Grant, the Yaquina View and Sam Case Boosters, Lincoln County School District, Oregon Coast STEM Hub, and the HMSC Director’s office, all of which ensure that Science Fair continues to be a valued annual event in our community.

The Newport Schools Science Fair is just one of many STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) activities benefiting students living on the Oregon Coast.  To find out about more STEM events, competitions and opportunities for you to get involved, visit the Oregon Coast STEM Hub website at http://oregoncoaststem.oregonstate.edu/ or email OregonCoastSTEM@oregonstate.edu.  The Oregon Coast STEM Hub office is located in Newport at the Hatfield Marine Science Center.

Read the News-Times coverage of the event:  Science Fair Draws Crowd

The student-built unmanned sailboat S.S. Morning Star has entered new territory! Educational Passages reports that the vessel launched from the University of Washington’s R/V Thompson last August is alive and well just north of Hawaii. This is the furthest west that any of the GPS-equipped 5 foot sailboats in the program has traveled in the Pacific Ocean, and its position on the globe required data managers to actually rewrite code so they could keep up with its progress!

Follow its track here:  http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/drifter/drift_ep_2015_1.html

The S.S. Morning Star was built by students at Tillamook High School during the spring of 2015, using materials provided to them by the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.  The crew of the R/V Thompson released the boat at sea on August 15th during its research expedition to the Axial Seamount. See photos and read a description of the deployment day on the Axial Seamount Expedition 2015 blog.

The S.S. Morning Star is the third student-built sailboat supported by the Oregon Coast STEM Hub that has been deployed in the Pacific. The other boats were built by students in Waldport (Phyxius) and in Coos Bay (S.S. Dolphin).

By Jim Grano

Siuslaw students present their Stewards of the Sand project to Dr. Jane Goodall and others at the Oregon Youth Summit

On Thursday October 15th, ten students from Siuslaw Elementary and Middle School in Florence attended the Oregon Youth Summit in Portland. The students are veterans of the Oregon Dunes Stewardship Project that has been carried on by all Siuslaw 4^th grade classes since 2011, and they were looking forward to sharing details of their recent invasive species removal efforts with others.

The Oregon Youth Summit featured a mix of 30 elementary, middle, and high schools from around the state.  Dr. Jane Goodall gave the keynote address to 400+ students, teachers and parents in which she talked about her life, career, and shared a hopeful message for a peaceful future.

The goal of the Summit was to have an opportunity for all students to share what they’ve done, and to inspire each other to even greater work in the future.  Each school displayed its environmental research and/or stewardship project on a 3’ X 6’ table.

The school teams briefly presented their projects to  Dr. Jane Goodall. Siuslaw’s spokesperson was Brady Bauer. The team had previewed the project for their local school board on the evening before the Summit.  Read the presentation.  Brady concluded the presentation with the following poem.  Dr. Goodall commented that she knew the poem, and that it is a favorite:

Stewards of the Sand exhibit

The event also featured mini-workshops and a scavenger hunt involving all of the displays.  “I particularly enjoyed creating balls of dirt, clay, compost and assorted wildflower seeds,” said Owen Harklerode, after attending one of the mini-sessions.  “It involved getting my hands dirty.”

In preparation for the Summit, Siuslaw’s team met over 5 evenings and did much of the work at home. The students created a display on a board constructed from Scotch Broom sticks, and which featured a hand made broom, awards the project had received from Oregon Invasive Species Council and US Forest Service, and take-away informational brochures about invasive Scotch Broom.

Dr. Goodall at the exhibit

Teacher Dennis King and volunteer Jim Grano guided the students.  “After a full day of work, Dennis and I should be exhausted after this extra planning and time … instead we are energized and inspired by the enthusiasm and creativity of these students and their parents!” Grano said.

Student Ava Glowacki summed up the experience as follows: “When I consider and reflect upon my experiences while participating in the Oregon Youth Summit, there are 3 things that stand out. First, meeting a highly inspirational person such as Dr. Goodall.  Second, listening to Dr. Goodall’s speech about how she started out and how it became her passion. And finally, being able to see all of the other schools’ projects that showed what they did to make a difference in our environment.”

This opportunity was sponsored by the Diack Foundation, which also provided a $250 assist to each school for transportation and substitute teachers, and from the Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School (JGEMS).

Jim Grano was a teacher in Mapleton and Siuslaw School Districts for 33 years before he retired in 2007.  Today, he is a busy volunteer in the Siuslaw, Reedport and Mapleton school districts, coordinating more than 40 grant-funded project-based field experiences for students.  He is also an active liaison for the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.

GEMS Campers collect data outside

Do you know a middle school girl who lives on the Oregon Coast and likes to create, build, and make discoveries?   The Oregon Coast STEM Hub is partnering with the Oregon Coast Aquarium to offer Girls in Engineering and Marine Science (GEMS), a unique Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) camp this summer in Newport. This free two-day camp will be led by female faculty and graduate students from Oregon State University and will take place on August 17^th and 18^th at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, with participants spending the night in the shark tunnels at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Female campers will explore careers in STEM fields through hands-on activities like building wave energy devices and hydrophones, designing and running experiments, and collecting data in the Yaquina Bay Estuary. Participants will develop teamwork, communication, and leadership skills throughout the program and learn from OSU mentors about what it’s like to pursue a degree and career in a marine related field.

GEMS Campers test their engineering design

GEMS begins at 9 am on August 17^th and ends at 4 pm on August 18^th. Only girls who are Oregon Coast residents and are entering 7^th and 8^th grades are eligible to participate. Meals are included both days.

Space is limited and pre-registration is required. To take advantage of this opportunity, participants must register by August 10^th by visiting the Oregon Coast STEM Hub Website at http://oregoncoaststem.oregonstate.edu/book/summer-activities. To obtain a paper registration form, please email OregonCoastSTEM@oregonstate.edu.