STEM Career Profile: NOAA Corps

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Cait Goodwin

What is it like to work in a STEM career? Meet Lieutenant Laura Gallant. She is the Deputy Chief of Operations at the NOAA Marine Operations Center – Pacific where she helps coordinate logistics and support for NOAA vessels in the Pacific Fleet.

Oregon Coast STEM Hub: How did you get interested in this career?

Laura Gallant – Courtesy photo

Laura Gallant: I was always interested in the natural world around me and how that all fits together. I realized as I grew up that meant I was interested in science. When I went to college I majored in Natural Resources. While I was there I did a semester abroad with Sea Education Association. We spent six weeks learning about nautical science, oceanography, and marine biology; and then we spent six weeks at sea in the Caribbean on a 120ft long tall ship. We learned to sail and conduct science experiments at sea. It was hard, I was always tired and sea sick; but it was also beautiful, exciting, and interesting. We had a captain who was a real inspiration to me. She was jack-of-all-trades. She had a Ph.D. from Harvard, but could also sail a tall ship and had travelled extensively. She took the time to explain things to me when I wanted to get deeper in to the “why” than our textbooks or lessons included. She also had such authority! I mean command at sea is not something we often see women depicted doing in movies and books. I was fascinated.

When I got back to college I wanted to study the sea, so I added a second major in Ocean Sciences. It was during those new classes that I found out about NOAA Corps. I had nearly joined the Navy or the Air Force when I started college because I loved the idea of serving my country, but I wanted to serve in a scientific capacity. The NOAA Corps is science and service. It was such a perfect fit! But even then I decided to go to graduate school. I thought I wanted to get a Ph.D. and be a researcher. I ended up getting a Master’s Degree in Biology and then decided it was time to join the NOAA Corps.

OCSH: What exactly is the NOAA Corps?

LG: NOAA stands for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The NOAA Corps is one of the seven uniformed services. It is also the smallest, with just 321 officers. We staff NOAA’s fleet of research vessels and aircraft. The NOAA Corps officers are the bridge officers and pilots. We work with civilians who serve all the other roles you’d need at sea: engineers, deck crew, shore support, etc.

LT Gallant mans the bridge during ROV recovery – Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research

OCSH: How do you get into the NOAA Corps?

LG: We are a direct commission service. That means to get in you need to finish a bachelor’s level education first. We require a certain number of credits in math and science, so most of us are science or engineering majors. There is an application process that is a lot like a college application with essays and an interview. Once you are accepted we go to a 4-5 month officer training program at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. After training we go out to the fleet. It takes about six months to a year at sea to get trained underway and qualified to drive the ship without direct supervision. Our ships range in size from 170 to 270 feet long, with anywhere from 21-52 people aboard. So when you are in charge of the vessel you are also in charge of everyone’s safety at sea.

OCSH: As a NOAA Corps officer, what do you do?

LG: In addition to driving the ships, officers also conduct and interpret science. Our ships have three main missions: seafloor mapping, fisheries research, and general oceanography. On the seafloor mapping ships, officers collect the data and then use computer programs to clean and convert that data into new nautical charts. On the fisheries ships, officers consult with the scientists aboard and serve sort of as intermediaries between scientist and ship’s crew. Oftentimes the scientists know what sort of data they want to collect but need specialized input on how to get the ship to best collect that data. Same goes for the general oceanographic vessels. They might be deploying buoys, collecting water chemistry data, or observing whales.

Officers spend about two to three years assigned to a vessel and then rotate into a three year land assignment. Ashore we might work in a NOAA laboratory or in a logistics and support type position. There are a lot of different types of assignments.

OCSH: How is your career related to STEM education?

ROV Deep Discoverer – Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research

LG: It’s important to have a STEM background because we are constantly using science, technology, engineering and math. We have to calculate speed/distance/time equations to figure out how fast we should go to arrive on station at a specific time. We use math to interpolate tidal data to figure out the best time to enter or leave a harbor. We analyze surface current and wind vectors to determine the best way to orient the ship for stationary operations. We also use our scientific education to interpret weather data we receive so we know if it will be safe to conduct operations. We are trained in radar and radio technology and learn how to use the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System. Some of our ships have sophisticated computers that maintain dynamic positioning, so all the ship’s engines and thrusters are controlled from one console. We have to understand technology and its integration in the ship’s systems to able to use that system safely. It’s a career that relies heavily on STEM.

OCSH: Although normally we can find you living and working in Newport, last April you were on board NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer as it conducted its mission to explore Puerto Rico’s seamounts, trenches and troughs using the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Deep Discoverer. What were you doing there?

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer – Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research

LG: I worked on Okeanos Explorer for about a year and half as Operations Officer. In April I went back to help train the new officers in ROV operations. It’s the officer’s responsibility to safety deploy and recover this 10,000lb ROV. It isn’t a task we take lightly! The whole crew needs to work together. The ROV supervisor directs the operation, the NOAA Corps officer drives the vessel, and the deck crew works the crane and other rigging.

Learn more about Okeanos Explorer‘s expedition on the website oceanexplorer.noaa.gov and read Laura’s mission log post: “A Day in the Life of a Watch Standing Bridge Officer” to find out more about her life and duties on board Okeanos Explorer.

Laura Gallant is actively involved with the Oregon Coast STEM Hub. She has served as a science mentor for the Newport Schools Science Fair, a mission judge for the Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition, and she is a member of the Oregon Coast STEM Hub’s Communications Committee.

MATE International ROV Competition

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Cait Goodwin

Be sure to tune in and cheer on the two teams from Oregon that are participating in the International MATE ROV competition next week! Look for the Ranger Class team R.U.W.E. from Taft 7-12 High School in Lincoln City, and Linn-Benton Community College’s Explorer Class team. Below is a message from the competition organizer Jill Zande:

Watch it LIVE June 25-27 at www.marinetech.org

The Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center, the National Science Foundation (NSF), NSF’s Office of Polar Programs, and the Marine Technology Society ROV Committee invite you to our 14th Annual MATE International Student ROV Competition.

Sixty-three teams representing middle schools, high schools, home schools, after-school groups, community colleges, and universities from 16 different countries are scheduled to compete in this year’s event, which is being held June 25-27, 2015 at the Marine Institute (MI) of Memorial University and the National Research Council’s Ocean, Coastal, and River Engineering (OCRE) facility in St. John’s, NL, Canada.

This year’s competition focuses on the role that ROVs play in scientific research and the offshore oil industry in the extreme environment of the Arctic. The underwater mission tasks include piloting under an ice sheet to sample organisms and deploy instrumentation and battling current, waves, and wind to inspect pipelines and test oilfield equipment. This year’s complex missions are made possible by the unique features of MI’s flume tank and the OCRE’s ice tank and offshore engineering basin.

Each year the competition challenges students to think of themselves as “entrepreneurs.” Students are asked to transform their teams into companies that design, build, and market their “product” as a way to gain a better understanding the breadth of real-world business operations. Along the way, they learn how to manage a project, work as a team, think creatively, and problem-solve, which are all important 21st century workplace skills.

During the event, a panel of judges – professionals representing industry, science, government, education, and exploration – will evaluate the student-run companies on their ability to effectively communicate their vehicles’ design and construction via technical documentation, marketing displays, and sales presentations.

The competition will also feature the Ocean Career Expo, organized by the MATE Center and its partners in the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE).

We encourage you to join us! You can also visit the MATE competition web site at www.marinetech.org where a LIVE videostream (including scores, photos, and video clips) will be hosted during the event.

Jill Zande

MATE Center Associate Director & ROV Competition Coordinator
(831) 646-3082 (work)
jzande@marinetech.org

Linn-Benton Community College ROV team, Explorer Class

Taft 7-12 High School team R.U.W.E., Ranger Class

Skill Set

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Cait Goodwin

Hatfield Marine Science Center’s Dr. Su Sponaugle shares how “girly” skills she learned years ago have played a part in shaping her science practices today.

Today I applied what I learned in elementary school. The blanket stitch. I have a Ph.D., but the skill I used today came from something I learned at age 8.

Science at Sea

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Cait Goodwin

Oregon Coast Educators and Students Engage in Science at Sea Activities
By Tracy Crews

Toledo High School teacher Ben Ewing holds the SS Dolphin which was built by Coos Bay middle school students and will be launched from the R/V Thompson over Memorial Day weekend.

Educators from Oregon will be taking part in a buoy deployment and research cruise off the Washington Coast to learn about how the changing ocean conditions impact ocean life in the Pacific Northwest. The deployment will occur over the Memorial Day weekend in NOAA’s Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, from the University of Washington research vessel Thomas Thompson.

Ben Ewing of Lincoln County School District and Cindy Bryden from Haystack Rock Awareness Program will join other educators from Washington and use this opportunity to learn more about the oceanographic research that is addressing several critical issues impacting Pacific Northwest coastal and inland waters. Educators will incorporate the research and their own cruise experiences into their classrooms and education programs.

The primary purpose of this cruise is to deploy a moored buoy system with sensors to monitor ocean and weather conditions off the coast. A Seaglider, an autonomous underwater vehicle, is part of the observing array and will be deployed as well. These observing instruments are part of a larger observing system known as NEMO (Northwest Enhanced Moored Observatory). While at sea, the team will conduct water and plankton sampling as part of Washington Ocean Acidification Center monitoring for ocean acidification.

In addition to supporting the research at sea, Toledo High School teacher Ben Ewing will be deploying the SS Dolphin, a five foot unmanned sailboat built by Sunset Middle School students in Coos Bay. This student-built sailboat is equipped with a GPS unit (Global Positioning System) so Oregon students and the public can track its journey across the Pacific. Funded by the Oregon Coast Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Hub, the SS Dolphin is the second student-built boat to be deployed in the Pacific Ocean by research vessels this school year. Plans are currently underway for Hatfield Marine Science Center researchers to deploy a third student-built boat at the Marianas Trench near Guam in June.

Based at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center, the Oregon Coast STEM Hub is one of six regional STEM Hubs funded by the Oregon Department of Education. With over 50 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.

Track the boat online here: http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/drifter/drift_ep_2015_1.html (Zoom into the Pacific NW)

Tracy Crews is the Project Manager for the Oregon Coast STEM Hub. You can reach her at OregonCoastSTEM@oregonstate.edu.

Irish Transition Students Visit Hatchery

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Cait Goodwin

Guest Contributor: Monika Robinson

Members of the “Irish Transition Program” at Waldport High School have been very busy! The program’s name comes from the school’s mascot (Irish) and its focus on preparing students with developmental disabilities for life after graduation. With the help of their teacher, Learning Specialist Monika Robinson, the students have been working on developing job skills. Last month, the team visited the Oregon Hatchery Research Center (OHRC) in Alsea to learn about the salmon cycle and to practice their job strategies. The Oregon Coast STEM Hub provided funds for the transportation and associated costs for the students’ upstream visit.

Irish Transition students remove invasive species from a dry stream bed

OHRC is a world-class research facility charged with developing and perfecting programs to improve fish hatchery practices and investigate all things relating to propagating salmon and steelhead. The motivated students from the Irish Transition Program toured the Center’s grounds and then used hand-operated gardening tools to practice their job strategies. The class dedicated themselves to clearing invasive species from one of the dry experimental streambeds, which they accomplished despite the persistent rain.

The trip to OHRC provided students with an opportunity to relate some of the activities they have been doing in class to a much larger professional scale operation. Irish Transition students have been raising salmon eggs in their classroom at Waldport High using the ODFW’s Salmon Trout Enhancement Program (STEP) “Egg to Fry” protocol. Two new chillers donated by Alsea Sportsman’s Association (ASA) support classroom aquariums where the students have placed eyed eggs in gravel. The students are keeping daily records of fish development, taking pictures with school iPads, and examining specimens under microscopes. When the hatched fry grow to be a little over an inch long, the students will release them into the Alsea River.

The Egg to Fry program and the trip to the hatchery not only provide Irish Transition Special Education students with hands-on STEM learning experiences, but these activities also connect them with STEM professionals in the local community.

“Community connections for these students are very important, to both socialize them with the world at large and to let them experience one of the many real work activities available to them following graduation,” Robinson said.

She thanks several community members for helping to make the field trip such a successful learning adventure for her students, including Ryan Couture and Alex Powell, from OHRC; Christine Clapp from ODFW; and Chuck Pavlik from ASA.

Monika Robinson is a Learning Specialist at Waldport High School in Waldport, OR.

MATE ROV: A Teacher’s Reflection

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Cait Goodwin

Guest Contributor: Kama Almasi

Saturday, April 25^th marked the culmination of the largest-scale project I’ve done with a group of students. It was an utterly exhausting, exhilarating, and rewarding experience both for me and for the vast majority of my kids. I endured:

sleepless nights
frantic phone calls for help (by me to other people, not the reverse!)
frantic runs, mostly by my husband, to hardware and electronic stores to get materials and supplies I didn’t know I needed until I couldn’t find them
and even some tears, though thankfully not in front of the kids.

Despite all of this, I am already planning next year’s repeat performance!

What am I talking about? Why, the 2015 Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition in North Bend, of course. For those unfamiliar with this competition, MATE stands for Marine Advanced Technology Education, and ROV stands for Remotely Operated Vehicle (here is the URL for our Regional Center: http://oregon.marinetech2.org/ ). The annual competition poses scientific and engineering challenges for students, and this year the theme was ROVs in Extreme Environments: Science and Industry in the Arctic.

This project is not for the fainthearted, of which I was definitely one. When the Oregon Coast STEM Hub’s Ruth McDonald first suggested the project to me, my immediate internal reaction was “HAH! No way!” and my external reaction was “No, the middle schoolers studied the Physics standards last year, this year we need to cover other standards”. But a few months into the year, while still struggling with major behavior issues in my oversized classes, I finally relented. I was desperate for some way to improve the situation in my classroom, so I decided to dive in with all 90+ middle school science students, despite my extreme lack of knowledge of wiring and electronics. It still took me another few months before I actually started the project, but at least I knew it was on the horizon.

To be perfectly honest, the first two weeks of the project were torture. The classroom was utter chaos, I was grossly unprepared, and I felt like a naïve, first-year teacher. But suddenly I realized during the third week that student engagement was far, far higher than it had been all year. Students walked into my room and immediately started working, even before the bell had rung! This was a miracle for my room. Students consulted with each other about how to wire, which wires were positive vs. negative, what a double-pull double-throw switch is, and what kinds of extensions to build onto their ROVs. They argued and argued, but it was all about design, engineering, and science! They also fell in love with my husband, whom they did not realize was my husband, as he was volunteering in the classroom nearly every day of the project. When he was absent they always noticed immediately: “Where’s my man, Rex?” I would hear, and “I NEED him!”

The run-off competition week finally arrived in Waldport. I had 16 teams; how on earth would I make sure they were all ready for competition and what would I do with them to whittle them down to the final two teams? Turns out I couldn’t make sure they were all ready — it was up to them. And in fact, many were not ready; that turned out to be part of the learning experience for them. It was a stressful but rewarding time; at the pool, students who were normally disengaged in academics were constantly troubleshooting problems and challenges. What a treat to witness this growth! And what a joy to call home and tell the winning teams that they were headed to Regionals.

Last Saturday’s Regional Competition was quite possibly the most challenging, yet rewarding day. My colleagues, Melissa Steinman, Holly Schell, and Daniel Wirick, and I took two middle school and two high school teams from Waldport to the competition in North Bend. We saw pride, disappointment, and learning experienced by our kids, while we all experienced the excitement of seeing the great talent and variety of the other teams. Reading the posters and seeing the ROVs was great fun, but the Place to Be was poolside. How to describe the satisfaction in watching small groups of teens so purely focused on their mission, eyes on the water, the only spoken words about the task at hand. Propeller falls off? All hands work together to fix it. Mission nearly accomplished? The entire team and the spectators wait in silence, with baited breath.

During the Awards Ceremony, although our four teams did not place, I found myself getting choked up with joy and excitement as one of the Toledo teams won the Navigator category, ensuring their ROV would be on display at the Oregon Coast Aquarium for the next 1 ½ years, and as one of the Taft 7-12 teams (freshmen!) won the Ranger category, earning a trip to the International MATE Competition in Newfoundland, Canada. The Waldport adults were all so exhausted that we thought the kids would fall asleep immediately on the bus trip home last night, but it was not to be. The entire trip was filled with excited kids talking about what happened that day, and what they want to do next year. We all cracked up as, near the end of the trip we heard one student say, “Is anyone besides me tired?”

I could never have pulled off this profound, rewarding experience without the help of many dedicated colleagues and friends, especially at the Oregon Coast STEM Hub. I was going to list them all here, but I think instead I’ll thank them personally and tell you this: Please, if you are hesitant to try something like this, if you feel inadequate or inexperienced, or faint of heart, just dive right in. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, because you’ll need it, but do it. For your sake and your kids’ sake. I will just end by saying how grateful I am to my 90+ students who made me so happy to be their teacher. I needed that.

Kama Almasi teaches Science at Crestview Heights and Waldport High School. She has a PhD in Ecology and has lived across the street from the Pacific Ocean off and on for 20 years. Kama is also a member of the Oregon Coast STEM Hub Steering Committee. She and her teaching partner brought two SCOUT class teams from Crestview Heights to the Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition: Poseidon’s Pirates and Nerdz 4 Life.

April 25th ROV Competition

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Cait Goodwin

Oregon Competition Helps Students Learn about Polar Science and Technology with Underwater Robots
Winners head to Canada in June for international contest

April 23, 2015— The Oregon Coast Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Hub, in conjunction with the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center, has issued an icy challenge to Oregon students. On Saturday, April 25^th, 38 teams of elementary, middle school, high school, and college students from across Oregon will compete in an underwater robotics competition in North Bend, Oregon that focuses on the use of these vehicles in scientific research and the offshore oil industry in the Arctic Ocean.

An annual event, the Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition encourages students to learn and apply science, technology, engineering, and math skills as they develop underwater robots – also known as remotely operated vehicles or ROVs – to complete missions that simulate real-world problems from the ocean workplace.

Established 4 years ago, the Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition continues to expand in both team numbers and geographic area from which teams hail, with teams traveling from as far as Klamath Falls and Astoria to attend.

The competition theme changes every year. This year’s contest highlights the role of ROVs in scientific research and the offshore oil industry in the extreme environment of the Arctic. Like scientists who work in polar conditions, students will pilot their ROVs under a simulated ice sheet where they will count and sample organisms, deploy scientific instruments, and collect iceberg data. They will also pilot their ROVs to complete tasks from the offshore oil industry, including inspecting pipelines and testing deep-sea oilfield equipment. In addition to their ROV missions, student teams must also create a poster and be interviewed by engineering judges.

The competition promotes the development of entrepreneurship and leadership skills by requiring students to organize themselves into a company structure with each student taking on a specific role. It transports students from the classroom into the business world, where the student-run, simulated companies design, manufacture, and market their student-built underwater robots. The process requires students to manage a project and budget, brainstorm innovative solutions, and work as a team – all important 21st century workforce skills.

The Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition is supported by numerous partners and over 50 volunteers, who serve as divers, judges and support staff. This year’s competition is sponsored by the Oregon Coast STEM Hub, which is a collaboration of over 50 coastal partners focused on providing world-class STEM opportunities for coastal teachers and their students. Additional support comes from the MATE Center, the Marine Technology Society, the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), Oregon Sea Grant, the Sexton Corporation, Oregon State University, the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, and the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

The Oregon Regional Competition is one of 24 regional contests held around the world whose efforts are coordinated by the MATE Center. Top teams from the upper level divisions will earn the opportunity to compete in MATE’s 14^th annual international ROV competition, which will be held June 25-27, 2015 at the Marine Institute of Memorial University, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

The public is invited to attend the competition and cheer for their local teams. The Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition will be held from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm on Saturday, April 25^th at the North Bend Community Pool and North Bend High School. For more information, please contact the Oregon Coast STEM Hub at OregonCoastSTEM@oregonstate.edu.

Girls in Engineering and Marine Science (GEMS)

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Cait Goodwin

Guest Contributor: Marie Kowalski

A team with their light trap

On April 16^th, twenty-seven young women arrived at Hatfield Marine Science Center, excited for two sunny days of science and engineering. The Oregon Coast STEM Hub hosted this highly engaging program called GEMS (Girls in Engineering and Marine Science) to connect 7^th and 8^th grade girls on the Oregon coast with female researchers and engineers working in marine-related fields. The program offered an opportunity for girls to learn about new careers, collaborate, complete engineering challenges, make new connections, and gain confidence in science and engineering.

Completing the ROV challenge at the test site

The first engineering challenge began quickly after a brief welcome and introduction. The girls were charged with building the tallest, strongest structure possible using only a few simple materials. Each team got right to work, collaborating to create a unique design, testing their structures’ strength with pennies, and then redesigning their towers. After this creative warm-up, Sarah Henkel, a professor at Oregon State University, spoke with the group about her research on wave energy development and its effects on benthic communities. Sarah described how complex and exciting research can be, as well as the number of people it takes to operate scientific equipment like ROVs (remotely operated vehicles). The girls were then able to work in teams, designing their own ROVs and testing them by completing an underwater task. The variety of designs was amazing, and everyone got a chance to drive their ROV.

In the afternoon, the GEMS girls had a chance to meet women working with marine organisms of all sizes. Scarlett Arbuckle shared her knowledge of plankton and a method of catching plankton in a light trap. The girls designed and built their own light traps, which they later deployed in the Yaquina Estuary and left overnight. They had to wait in suspense until the next morning to see what types of plankton they had trapped.

Using a launcher to “Pin the tag on the whale”

Shifting to animals on a larger scale, Shea Steingass and Barb Lagerquist from the Marine Mammal Institute joined the group to discuss tracking harbor seals and whales. The girls got to see the tags used to track these animals, and many seemed surprised at the size of the tags. They even got to use an antenna to track a tagged “seal” hidden on the Hatfield Marine Science Center campus and practice tagging a “whale” with a straw rocket launcher! Later that afternoon, Christine Clapp from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife walked the girls through a dissection of adult Steelhead. Every single girl was engaged in the dissection, pulling out the gills, swim bladder, eyeballs, heart, and many other organs. Some even had a huge pile of bright orange eggs on their table!

At the end of the first day, the group took a survey of the shore crabs present near HMSC in the estuary, marking and releasing crabs after taking measurements. Even after a full day of scientific fun, girls enthusiastically participated in the Sleep with the Sharks sleepover program at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The girls were able to meet female aquarium staff who worked in several different capacities at the aquarium and learn about their career paths.

After sleeping in the tunnels with sharks and other fish swimming overhead all night, the girls recovered their light traps and investigated the success of their trap designs under the microscope. They saw many copepods, a larval fish, and several other types of plankton. Friday morning also had an opportunity for the girls to explore the HMSC visitor center and take a behind the scenes tour of the facility with female HMSC husbandry staff.

OSU Fisheries and Wildlife PhD student Chante Davis lead a DNA extraction activity with the group. She also shared a demonstration showing the importance of using genetics to manage fishing practices using goldfish crackers and skittles, yum! The final GEMS guest was Marine Resource Management Master’s student Jessica Porquez. She discussed her research with wind energy devices and their potential impacts on sea birds, which also provided a context for the final design challenge: creating efficient wind turbine blades. The girls worked in teams to create, test, and redesign their turbine blades.

Extracting DNA from strawberries

This two day program was exciting, collaborative, intellectual, challenging, and inspiring. Many girls asked if the program would be happening again next year, even before it was over.

When asked what was their favorite part of GEMS, some of the girls replied that they especially liked:

“All these strong science women who have done so well in their career and how they told us, thank you :)”

“I enjoyed learning about all of the different marine life and being able to learn about how people got to where they are now.”

“I enjoyed the part when we learned the sleepover attendants’ way to their job over at the aquarium. It really inspired me to learn how to pursue the husbandry industry.”

“Everything! But if I had to choose it would be the light trap, the crab survey, the wind turbine experiment and the fun sleepover!!!!!”

————-

Marie Kowalski is a master’s student at Oregon State University in Marine Resource Management with a focus on marine education. She is currently developing a relevant middle school curriculum about microplastics for her thesis. Marie also gets to be involved with some of the education-related programs at Hatfield, including the Oregon Coast STEM Hub and events like GEMS!

Update: Sharing Salmon Stories Abroad

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Cait Goodwin

Guest Contributor: Joseph O’Neil

This post is a follow up to Joseph’s earlier post: Sharing Salmon Stories Abroad

Joseph O’Neil in Russia

Vladivostok, Russia. What an experience!!! I spent 5 days discussing how we in Oregon educate our students on issues ranging from global climate change to the importance of caring for the environment and specifically salmon. I met with various primary educators and their students, as well as the education team for the unfinished Primorsky Aquarium.

I was asked to be the keynote speaker at a conference where the children were presenting their problem-based learning experience before a panel of professional environmental scientists. As I sat listening to my interpreter translate, I was in awe at the level of professionalism these young people exhibited. Their heads barely above the podium, presentation on the screen behind, dressed in their best, they spoke confidently and with an authority I seldom witness in the conferences I attend of professionals.

The problems of poaching and lack of care for the environment — due in large part to the depressed economy — are driving educators to reach out to young people with the message that change can happen and they are the solution.

At another conference I attended sponsored by the Phoenix Fund, a World Wildlife affiliate, I listened to educators speak about their programs and how they are reaching their students. The takeaway for me was of optimism and hope and openness to new ideas.

I returned having made new friends, carrying business cards written in a language I don’t understand, and a mission to aid in whatever way I can to help my Russian friends further develop their education programs with the aid of the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Hatfield Marine Science Center and the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.

Joseph O’Neil is the Senior Technician and Outreach Coordinator for the Oregon Hatchery Research Center (OHRC) in Alsea, Oregon. OHRC is a cooperative research project between the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oregon State University Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, and is a partner in the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.

Bandon Robotics

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Cait Goodwin

Guest Contributor: Martha Kemple

“It was clear that resources did not decide who won, because you had robots made out of entirely custom made parts competing with Frankenstein’s-monster-style robots, held together with duct-tape and crossed fingers, and they stay neck-and-neck for most of the tournament.”

– Max, Bandon H.S. junior and assistant team captain

FIRST Tech Competitions

Both of Bandon High’s Robotics Teams participated in the FIRST Tech Challenge Qualifying Tournament at OSU on Saturday, February 7. During the morning, the students had to take their robot through three inspections: software, robot design, and field connections (making sure the robot and software were properly set up to connect to the tournament computer system). Teams also participated in two interviews: one a formal interview in a quiet room with a panel of judges who asked about how the robot was designed and built, driving, game strategy, the Engineering Notebook (each team had to put together a notebook describing their design processes), community service, outreach, and fund raising. The second interview was an informal one in the “pit” area–the room in which each team has a table to work on their robot, make any changes to the programming code, and hang out.

In the afternoon, the teams participated in 5 of 30 matches, and their scores were tallied. Team 8124 was in first place at the end of 30 matches, and 9130 was in 11th place. Team 8124 and the next top three teams each chose two teams for their “Alliances,” and then entered the elimination round. Team 8124 chose the 4-H team from Sutherlin and the other Bandon team, 9130, as their Alliance. They prevailed over the 4th place team in the elimination rounds, and proceeded to the championship! Their Alliance came in second overall, thereby earning them the opportunity to compete at the FIRST Tech Challenge Super Qualifiers the weekend of February 21.

We traveled up to Hillsboro (that’s a LONG 5+ hour drive in a school bus—but I’m very glad I didn’t have to drive!) and participated in the competition there. The teams made improvements to their robots and code, and the robots performed better than they had at the Qualifying Tournament, but the competition was a lot stiffer. We had fun, though, and we gained lots of ideas that we can pull from for next year.

Bandon High School Robotics would like to thank the Oregon Coast STEM Hub for paying for the food for our two FTC Tournament trips.

Robotics Class at Bandon High School

The Robotics class is in its second year at Bandon High School. During the fall term, students spend some time learning RobotC, and then design, build, and program robots with the goal of competing in the FIRST Tech Challenge. During the spring, after the FTC competition season has ended, the class switches gears towards underwater robotics, and works to develop a submersible ROV (an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle) with the goal of participating in the Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition, which this year will be held on April 25 at the North Bend Community Pool.

Each of these competitions has a specific list of criteria for the robot and the tasks it must perform, so the students design and build their robots with those goals in mind. This class is very hands on and really focuses on teamwork, as students are working on a variety of different things in order to get the robot to work. Some may be programming, some may be keeping track of details and making sure everyone knows the competition rules, some may be designing and building the robot, and some may be building the different items needed for the robot to practice the skills required for the tournament.

What Do the Students Think?

The FTC is a lot of fun because it celebrates creative problem solving. This year we had the pleasure of going to sub-state qualifiers, and the thing I enjoyed most is seeing how different everyone’s robot was from each other.

Our own robot was very simple compared to so many other robots, yet it took us through our first tournament because it was decently built around a good idea. There are so many different ways to score, no two robots will ever focus on the same thing, so every team you partner with brings new ideas to the table, and you have something to strive toward for next year.

I enjoy participating in the FTC because it centers heavily around creativity and teamwork, and everyone’s ideas are represented, showing how we all think differently while also showing everyone has something to contribute.

– Max, Bandon H.S. junior and assistant team captain

My experience on the trips to compete at the FTC competition was very rewarding, because not only did I get to compete the FTC qualifiers and the super qualifiers with my fellow team mates in a very creative ways. I got to go to the OSU wave lab, and not only that but the OSU robotics club showed us the many ways robots can be used. This opened up many new areas of careers and innovating ways to build robots. This makes the path to approaching my future not only more bright but fun and exciting.

– John, Bandon H.S. junior and lead builder

This was my first year in robotics, and I really enjoyed it. The competition was great. I had a lot of fun driving the robot. I also had a lot of fun keeping log of what we did every day. The FTC experience was extensively different then all the other classes I have been in. The FTC robotics class was much more free-form and based on the goals of the student. In the robotics class the speed is geared on the student. The faster the student goes the more the robot advances and grows.

The FTC experience was great and I enjoyed every second of it. Whether I was driving, keeping logs of daily activity, or trying not to pull my hair out I was always having fun.

– Jack, Bandon H.S. sophomore in charge of engineering notebook

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 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.

Ms. Kemple will be bringing two teams to the Oregon Regional MATE ROV Competition in April. Team “West Coast Robotics, Inc.” will compete in the SCOUT class, and “Wieland’s Shipyard” will compete in the NAVIGATOR class.

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