Sturgis students explore deep-sea robotics
Description
Summer program in Rhode Island aims to expand interest in ocean studies at other schools.
HYANNIS - Two Sturgis Charter Public School students will be getting a deep dive into the world of underwater sensors and robotics this summer at the University of Rhode Island.
Sophia Beauregard, a sophomore from Bourne, and Cece Kane, a freshman from Harwich, will travel to Kingston for a week in July with Sturgis math teacher Stacey Strong as part of the Marine Technology for Teachers and Students program to learn about building remotely operated vehicles and sensors for measuring ocean conditions. The students will get hands-on opportunities to learn about, build and test the devices with ocean scientists from URI and the University of Connecticut and participate in virtual interactions with scientists in the field, using webinars and telepresence technologies at URI's Inner Space Center at the school's Graduate School of Oceanography.
Video: CeCe Kane, Sturgis Public Charter School freshman, discusses building an ROV.
But the weeklong session is not just about learning, Strong said. She and the students also will be equipped to teach the same concepts back home in other schools on the Cape in the coming year. Strong sees that component as a vital part in trying to encourage more students to explore ocean-based studies and careers.
"We're on Cape Cod. We have all this science here," she said, referring to organizations such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. "I often will be talking in class about WHOI and the kids don't know what is here. Even if they know, it's not accessible to them."
Strong was one of 12 teachers in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts to participate in the yearlong project, which is funded by a $1.2 million award from the National Science Foundation and focuses on providing opportunities for teachers and students to explore new technologies in ocean sciences.
Sophia and CeCe were part of a larger group of Sturgis students who worked with Strong on another remotely operated vehicle project this year. Working in a makeshift shop in the corner of the Sturgis East basement, the students used a blueprint from the MIT Sea Perch program to build a small vehicle out of PVC pipe and other common hardware materials and competed in an underwater obstacle course in New Bedford.
The team of six students made a few modifications, such as adding some netting to help the device successfully navigate the obstacle course and using smaller pieces of foam to help with buoyancy. After several practice rounds in the pool at the Resort and Conference Center at Hyannis this winter, they took their vehicle to the December competition sponsored by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport and the Undersea Science and Engineering Foundation.
It wasn't a resounding success - the vehicle stopped working in the middle of the pool and repairs were troublesome - but the students worked through it, Strong said.
"I loved it," CeCe said of building the vehicle. "It was a great opportunity to get a lot of hands-on experience."
CeCe said she always has had an affinity for marine studies dating back to her years spent in the Monomoy Regional School District. She thinks the sea - or maybe outer space - will hold the key for her career aspirations.
For Sophia, the experiences have given her some new ideas of where her future could lie.
"I've always been a math and science person, but this has definitely opened up some opportunities for me," she said.