SeaPerch Monthly Report – August 2012

The Numbers

Timeframe SeaPerch Students Teachers/Mentors Kits Shipped Tool Kits Events Trained Trained Shipped

August 2012 33 5,928 310 799 139

Year-to-date 238 28,612 2,236 4,966 588

Key Personnel /Stakeholder Activities

Type Date Location Personnel AUVSI North America Convention 5-8 August Las Vegas Nelson, Kimball, Hansen

Teacher Training – SeaGlide Workshop 8-12 Ketchikan, Nelson, Ratcliffe August AK

Teacher Training 20 August Dahlgren, VA Ratcliffe 2013 National SeaPerch Challenge Planning National Team, Indiana Host 23 August Call Team Meeting with Navy Nuclear Reactor Team 27 August DC Nelson AUVSIF Meeting 28 August DC AUVSI Staff Team Calls Weekly SeaPerch Staff SeaPerch Staff and Website Development Calls Bi-weekly Sonjara

Google Analytics for SeaPerch.org

5,562 Visits 60.10 % New Visitors 3,760 Unique Visitors 3,343 Visits 26,263 Pageviews 39.90% Returning Visitors 4.72 Pages/Visit 2,219 Visits

44.53% Bounce Rate

Events

SeaPerch Spotlighted at AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America Conference

Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Convention Center was the spectacular venue for AVUSI’s 2012 Unmanned Systems North America conference and exposition, and SeaPerch was there too, prominently displayed in the center of the Student Competition Area where robotic teams from six colleges and universities demonstrated their winning designs.

Representing SeaPerch were Susan Nelson, Executive Director, Chris Hansen, Technical Director, and Phil Kimball, Program Director, and this year we were joined by U.S. Navy P38 Reservist, CDR John Sicklick, along with two enthusiastic engineering students, Shanice Jones and Nancy Do, representing one of our newest partners, Embry-Riddle University.

The SeaPerch booth included a large covered pool with two SeaPerches outfitted with underwater cameras and monitors for visitors to follow when challenged to pick up rings off the bottom. The large AUVSI water tank was also available on the show floor for demonstrations of the mini-SeaPerch, which in turn drove additional visitor traffic to the booth.

On Wednesday afternoon the SeaPerch booth was visited by ONR’s Chief of Naval Research, RADM Matthew Klunder, who tested his skills by retrieving rings off the pool bottom.

Thursday was even busier as it was Student Day, or RoboTour, which attracted middle, high and home school students as well as Boy and Girl Scout troops and 4H groups from the greater Las Vegas area.

Students were observed coming back for more “sea time,” and both parents and chaperones were captivated by the depth and breadth of the program and as well as our newest brochure, “How to Start a SeaPerch Program in Your School.”

Teacher Training in Ketchikan,

As SeaPerch continues to explore new ways to educate students and train teachers, Susan Nelson made her way to Ketchikan, AK to observe a new potential program called SeaGlide. The SeaGlide summer camp was offered for the first time in the western United States and is a cooperative effort of the STEM AK program, the Naval Surface Warfare Center - Carderock Division, NAVSEA, and SeaPerch. The camp brought together 17 middle school students and five teachers from around the state for a one week, intensive workshop to build the autonomous underwater glider. Joining the group were three engineers and a STEM educator from Carderock headed by Toby Ratcliffe, Bob Vieth from STEM AK, and the Underwater Team from the MIT Edgerton Center, headed by Ed Moriarty.

The teachers worked alongside students in learning about building underwater robots, including principles of marine architecture and design, concepts of and center of gravity, and circuit design and programming. The week culminated in the successful launch of 22 SeaGlide submersibles in the local pool. U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski stopped by the pool-side event.

The kids were ecstatic with their successful glides. As one excited young lady exclaimed, “This is the COOLEST thing I have ever done!”

SeaPerch Part of Engineering Internship Program

The Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) is the U.S. Army’s acquisition and contracting center of excellence for simulation, training and testing capabilities. SeaPerch was used as a platform to teach and then verify the design development and implementation process with high school students in their Engineering Internship. The link below is to the PEO STRI Engineering Internship Web site: http://www.handhgraphicsorlando.com/STEM/

Teacher Training at Dahlgren, VA

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) conducted a teacher training event on August 20th. Master trainer Toby Ratcliffe from Carderock led the training. Teachers from Orange, Westmoreland, Colonial Beach, and Richmond counties in VA were trained.

Program Growth Susan Nelson held numerous meetings during the month to expand the SeaPerch program. A few highlights:

 Susan met with Robert Gibbs, Director, Management and Administration, of Naval Reactors (NAVSEA08) who wants to adopt SeaPerch program-wide over the next several years. Roll-out is planned in Pittsburgh and New York in year one, followed by Idaho and D.C., with eager mentors and great support from the leadership.

 Susan met with personnel form the Ocean Sciences Department at ONR to discuss possible collaboration ideas in the development of a history component of the SeaPerch curriculum.

 Susan met with Dr. Deborah Barnhart, CEO of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. The group is looking for ideas for their week-long camps for next summer, and they would like to make SeaPerch a part of those camps.

 Susan and Dr. Lori Richmond had several calls to work through final details of the new Resource and Activity Guide that will be coming out October 1st. More details to follow, but the guide is designed to be a resource for teachers and mentors to use to provide complete packaged information and resources for them to teach SeaPerch.

Highlights from New Programs

Navy JROTC Units

A partnership is developing with the Navy Junior ROTC (NJROTC) program. NJROTC cadets across the country will begin using SeaPerch to “learn by doing” as they are taught and marine and ocean engineering principles, basic science and engineering concepts, tool safety, team building, leadership development, and technical procedures, all while exploring exciting careers possibilities in naval architecture and naval, ocean, and marine engineering. The following NJROTC schools began programs or ordered kits in August: Flour Bluff High School, TX Foy H. Moody High School, TX Magnolia High School, TX Reseda Senior High, CA Rockport- Fulton High School, TX Sullivan North High School, TN

Arizona

SeaPerch will be a capstone project for students at Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix, concluding two years of physics, math and engineering design studies. In addition to the eight week curriculum provided by SeaPerch, students will also study weightlessness in space, maneuvering in space, energy use and conservation in space. California

The Avenue Park Teen Center in Santa Monica focuses on providing opportunities for youth to gain life skills, contribute to their community, and enrich their lives educationally and culturally through creative arts, leadership, and mentor programs. SeaPerch will be used to launch the new Teen Tinkering Class to provide engineering enrichment to an after-school program that has previously focused on arts education. Students at the Family Life Center in Petaluma will meet after school weekly to build ROVs and learn from USCG mentors about real world uses of robots. A girls-only session is also planned to offer a new perspective on possible career paths for girls interested in STEM topics. Iridescent High School Engineering After School Programs in Los Angeles are designed to provide students with an opportunity to learn and explore engineering concepts and potential careers. Due to the great success of underwater robotics summer camps and demand from the community, they would like to continue running the SeaPerch program in an after school format. The program will be held two days per week for eight weeks and will engage students as they discuss electronics, autonomy, ocean dynamics, and research applications of ROVs. The program will be facilitated by Iridescent staff and USC engineering students who have taken “Engineers as Teachers”, a semester long course led by Iridescent at USC. The Science Club at Vista Del Lago High in Folsom has many different branches to help promote and nurture students’ interests in STEM in the school and community. The robotics branch of the Science Club was formed specifically to cater to the increasing opportunities and excitement that robotics and engineering brings to the students. Their plan is to incorporate SeaPerch underwater ROVs as a focused activity in this club. Colorado

Mountain Ridge Middle School in Colorado Springs plans to offer SeaPerch to all grade levels as an after school program. A competition conducted by the Air Academy is slated for late October. Students will keep a journal on their SeaPerch build and will have an opportunity to evaluate their final project and reflect on their performance after the competition. Students participating in the free Science and Engineering After School Club at Dunstan Middle School will work in teams to construct SeaPerches and then race their ROVs against other students. The group will met once per week to learn about buoyancy and density along with small tool safety and teamwork. Students at Carson Middle School will learn about the engineering process with SeaPerch. Students will investigate what it means to be an engineer and learn how to work collaboratively, all while gaining confidence, motivation, and a solid foundation for future engineering projects. SeaPerch will be implemented at Sabin Middle School in Colorado Springs as an application of what students have already learned through participation in the school’s Solar Car Club. The goal/objective is that student teams will be able to successfully and independently follow assembly directions to build SeaPerch ROVs, demonstrating the ability to apply the skills that they have gained from building alternative energy cars. Florida

The STEM Explorathon is a community-wide Jacksonville event that allows K- 12 kids to explore careers in different STEM fields and get hands-on experience. SeaPerch will be on display at the STEM Explorathon for students to test out. A Vision of Hope Youth Network in Largo will effectively use out-of-school time to inspire and engage youth from underrepresented minority groups, giving them access to and participation in hands-on STEM activities and exercises that will engage their analytical and critical thinking skills. Utilizing the vast resources throughout Pinellas County such as the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Highland Family Aquatic Center, The Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and the Florida Aquarium, program participants will build SeaPerches and use Vernier Software & Technology meters, probes and sensors to engage in activities and experiments that focus on the environment. The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) 2013 Robotic Surfboard and Summer Workshop will incorporate SeaPerch to provide research experience for undergraduate students in the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) student chapter and offer a summer camp to K-12 students to learn the dynamics and danger of ocean waves. Additional research and usage plans include manufacturing robotic surfboards that are stable in turbulent water.

Georgia

The Parkside Elementary STEM Initiative in Atlanta is looking to implement underwater robotics into their established robotics and rocketry after school program. Students will build SeaPerch ROVs that will be utilized in completing underwater tasks and competing against students at partnering schools in the district. Students will also equip the ROVs with lights and a camera to explore the habitat of a neighborhood pond.

Students at Brooks County High School in Quitman will study environmental conservation through the use of SeaPerch. Over 120 Environmental Science students will collect samples from wetlands, ponds and streams to analyze pH levels as well as levels of nitrites, nitrates, phosphates, sulfur, and to determine methods of restoration of any detected imbalances.

The Engineering, Architectural and Industrial Academy at Camden County High School provides an excellent setting for STEM learning opportunities. SeaPerch kits will be incorporated into the Foundations of Technology course to provide a hands-on educational activity that will link science and technology and help inspire students to continue a STEM education.

Southwest Middle School is a Title I as well as an International Baccalaureate® school in Savannah. The engineering program is designed to give students a perspective of the engineering professions and to provide hands-on activities and opportunities for them. SeaPerch ROVs will provide real world application of the course objective which is to develop creative problem solvers who able to respond critically and resourcefully to the demands of an increasingly technological society.

Illinois

The ROV Team at St. Patrick High School will use SeaPerch to expand their program by inviting 9th and 10th grade students join the after school SeaPerch ROV build. Additionally, the group will reach out to elementary and middle school students from other schools to participate and foster a greater interest in STEM. The group will also serve as a hub in Chicago for training teachers and students in robotics using SeaPerch.

Indiana

Nancy Hanks Middle School in Ferdinand will incorporate SeaPerch into their Independent Study class where students are given an opportunity to choose an area of STEM that they wish learn more about. SeaPerch will provide for the accomplishment of classroom goals such as creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration. Teacher training will be completed at University of Southern Indiana and through the use of the SeaPerch online training videos.

Maryland

The 8th grade science course at Bryn Mawr Middle, an all-girl school in Baltimore, now encompasses an applied approach to physical science, including an emphasis on engineering. SeaPerch will offer these students a tremendous opportunity to gain hands-on skills in meeting a substantial design challenge. Bryn Mawr shares a swimming pool with a neighboring school, and they plan to hold final trials here. They also hope to expand to include competitions with other Baltimore area schools.

The purpose of the SeaPerch program at Forest Heights Elementary School is to provide students with the opportunity to apply concepts and skills from their science courses to real-life applications. The program is also intended to ignite in students a love of science and broaden their understanding of science and science careers. The initial program will serve approximately 30 6th grade students with the support of partnerships established with the National Park Service and Oceaneering International Technologies. These partners will provide students with advice and technical assistance throughout the year in the form of guest speakers, telephone video conferences, and a visit to a facility that builds ROVs for commercial uses and research.

Western High School, an all-girl public school in Baltimore, plans to add SeaPerch to the curriculum so that students can gain a fuller understanding of the wide variety of robotics applications. Students will learn about shop safety and documentation as they respond to different underwater challenges. Students will also research and evaluate the use of robotics in underwater exploration and learn about career opportunities in marine science and engineering.

Members of the robotics club at Stephen Decatur High will partner with NJROTC students at the same school to implement a SeaPerch build. Students will keep a team journal and log book including pictures and schematics to document the process. Passport to Learning is an enrichment program for boys and girls to learn about underwater robotics. The objective of the program is to provide an opportunity for home school cooperative children to explore scientific reasoning and hands-on experimentation and to apply what they learned in building and operating SeaPerch ROVs. Field trips and guest speakers will enhance their learning.

Students in the engineering pathway program at Earle B. Wood Middle School in Rockville will follow the 12 step engineering design process as they design, build, and test SeaPerch ROVs over a three month period. The group plans to visit the Naval Surface Warfare Center in West Bethesda, MD to test and evaluate their ROVs and intends to seek feedback about their work from a team of engineers.

Massachusetts

Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School serves 12 communities in the Boston area. Seniors enrolled in the Applied Technology course will connect vocational understandings to academic topics in physics and technology/engineering with SeaPerch. The class will be given lessons on soldering, wiring, basic circuitry, propulsion, buoyancy, thrust, and other topics as well as assessments to test for understanding. During the challenge portion of the learning, students will be asked to operate the ROV in the school’s swimming pool as well as design and build apparatuses to attach to the ROV to complete specific tasks. Students will go to Breakheart Reservation (Silver Lake) to measure and analyze the environment and will also complete lab reports and journals that detail their investigations.

Minnesota

University of Minnesota Extension 4-H Aquatic Robotics will hold a statewide SeaPerch training with a focus on collecting and identifying macro-invertebrates and their role in water quality. Youth who participate in the training will design and adapt their ROVs to meet a water quality concern in their home community. The statewide 4-H Aquatic Robotics program using SeaPerch has generated widespread interest in engineering and water quality education.

Missouri

Parkland Science Initiatives Farmington will use SeaPerch to spread the word about opportunities and careers in robotics and other high tech fields and get youth excited about STEM. Four teams of “SeaPerch Explorers” will build the ROVs at the local community college; friends, family members and the community at large will be invited to a culminating event in which the students will give presentations and lead hands-on activities about the science of ROVs and underwater exploration, electronics, careers in robotics and other topics. The SeaPerch ROV platform fits well in many different classes taught in a program that emphasizes engineering, electronics, and STEM at Truman High in Independence. Beginner and advanced students will explore topics such as electronics, electricity, water safety, buoyancy, thrust, and motor placement while building their SeaPerches.

A goal of the County 4-H Robotics Program in Potosi is to introduce their financially challenged rural community youth to the SeaPerch program. The group plans a competition in November and a SeaPerch Showcase at the Washington County Fair.

New Jersey

The SeaPerch build at Rutgers Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development Program will focus on engineering concepts and explore the function and purpose of ROVs and gliders in conducting research. The project is designed to engage participants in a fun, hands-on experience that will inspire them to expand their interest in science and consider careers in both science and engineering. Their SeaPerch experience will include guest presentations by marine scientists from Rutgers University who will speak with youth about careers in science.

North Carolina

Communities in Schools of Forsyth County (CISFC) afterschool programs serve over 200 students daily attending the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School District. As a key component to their educational and enrichment services, CISFC incorporates grade and age appropriate STEM activities, such as SeaPerch. While building their ROVs, students will function in small groups to develop and increase their self-esteem while learning information that can support their academic goals. As an additional component, mentors within the community will interact with students as guest speakers, support partners and career guides.

Oklahoma

STARBASE Oklahoma is a youth educational enrichment program originated by the National Guard Bureau in 1993. The program is designed to expose at-risk youth (grades 5-8) to "hands-on, minds-on" STEM content. Students, along with their mentors, will meet every other week for two hours from January through April 2013. With SeaPerch and under the guidance of their mentors, students will explore the engineering design process, data analysis and careers in oceaneering.

The SeaPerch build at the Discovery 4-H program in Tulsa will provide students the opportunity to participate in a hands-on STEM experience using math, science, team work and problem solving skills to construct their ROVs. SeaPerch will be used with other 4-H projects as well. For example, students enrolled in photography or visual arts could attach an underwater camera to the ROV, those in environmental studies could use SeaPerch to collect water samples, and those more interested in health and physical education could devise underwater games using the SeaPerch.

SeaPerch will bring STEM to life for students at Regent Preparatory School in Tulsa. Through their build, students will continue learning about robotics and engineering. A competition is planned for the Tulsa area.

Oregon Freshman physical science students at Silverton High School will collaborate with each other and work in teams to design SeaPerch ROVs. In a culminating event, students will take their ROVs to Silverton Pool and have a half-day underwater ROV competition. The SeaPerch build will fulfill the freshman requirement to complete an engineering project. The Greater Philadelphia SeaPerch Challenge is a naval engineering themed competition designed to give students an overall experience in the engineering process. The competition is the center of a broader strategy that increases interaction between potential future engineers, local universities, industry and government. Middle and high school students from 50 schools work in teams to design and build a SeaPerch. The three month long build culminates in a daylong event at Drexel University where students are given a specific mission to complete. The students must design and construct a device to attach to their SeaPerch to carry out the mission. The mission is designed around a event. The mission of AIM Academy in Conshohocken is to provide extraordinary educational opportunities to children with language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. SeaPerch will be a part of the high school biology curriculum to help students learn to problem solve in small teams and establish engineering skills needed and expected of all high school science students at AIM. Density changes, in water bodies, and light attenuation are possible topics of additional research using the ROVs. Rhode Island Brandaris Maritime will provide STEM programming using SeaPerch in an afterschool program called AfterZone, reaching students at Nathan Bishop Middle School, Roger Williams Middle School, Community Preparatory School, and St. Mary's Home for Children. Plans include developing a cadre of students, trained in the construction details of SeaPerch, to act as SeaPerch STEM Ambassadors who will bring the excitement and enthusiasm of their build project to other classes, classroom activities and school wide projects. Additionally, they plan to create a regional culminating event with other targeted schools in the Greater Providence area to generate interest in and enthusiasm for the SeaPerch STEM projects.

Virginia Booker T. Washington Middle School in Newport News is a Pre-Advanced Placement and Marine Science Magnet School devoted to developing a community of students interested in Marine Science and STEM among their 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Hands-on learning at the school will now include a SeaPerch ROV build. A competition is planned for January for students to become experts at driving their ROVs. Eaton Middle School in Hampton provides its students a unique opportunity to apply science and mathematics through hands on technology and engineering classroom activities. SeaPerch will be used as a supplementary design activity to enhance students' understanding of automation and robotics. The ROVs will be constructed with the intent of solving a specific problem related to the nearby Chesapeake Bay as well as to research marine-related careers in the area. Washington SeaPerch will reinforce topics such as basic seamanship, team work, sportsmanship, and presentation skills for students at Curtis Senior High. They will be working with the University Of Washington, Boeing, Microsoft engineers, and the Tacoma Yacht Club during the project. SeaPerch will be a part of the robotics program expansion at Cheney Middle School with the goal of reaching students who cannot fit this class into their regular schedule. Students will work with local engineers to learn not only how to build the units but what these units are used for in real life. Students will also investigate ways to enhance their ROVs with underwater cameras or GPS units to explore local lakes.

Partners of Note

A Vision of Hope Youth Network, FL AIM Academy, PA Booker T. Washington Middle School, VA Brandaris Maritime's STEM Enrichment Program, RI Brooks County High School, GA Bryn Mawr Middle School, MD Camden County High School, GA Carson Middle School, CO Cheney Middle School, WA Communities in Schools of Forsyth County (CISFC), NC Community Preparatory School, RI Community Preparatory School, RI Curtis Senior High, WA Discovery 4-H, OK Drexel University Dunstan Middle School, CO Earle B. Wood Middle School, MD Eaton Middle School, VA Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, FL Family Life Center, CA Forest Heights Elementary School, MD Foy H. Moody High School, TX Greater Philadelphia SeaPerch Challenge, PA Iridescent High School Engineering After School Programs, CA Mountain Ridge Middle School, CO Nancy Hawks Middle School, IN Nathan Bishop Middle School, RI Naval Reactors (NAVSEA08) Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), VA Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division, MD NAVSEA Navy City Outreach, CA Navy City Outreach, NY Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School, MA Ocean Sciences Department, ONR Parkland Science Initiatives, MO Parkside Elementary STEM Initiative, GA Passport to Learning, MD Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO STRI), FL Regent Preparatory School, OK Roger Williams Middle School, RI Rutgers Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development Program, NJ Sabin Middle School, CO Sea Cadets Silverton High School, OR Southwest Middle School, GA St. Mary's Home for Children, RI St. Patrick High School, IL STARBASE Oklahoma STEM AK STEM Explorathon, FL Stephen Decatur High, MD Sullivan North High School, TN Sunnyslope High School, AZ Truman High, MO University of Minnesota Extension 4-H Aquatic Robotics U.S. Space and Rocket Center, AL Virginia Avenue Park Teen Center, CA Vista Del Lago High, CA Washington County 4-H Robotics Program, MO Western High School, MD