The Robotics Club at the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy received a nice surprise on Friday when they entered the gym during the scheduled club time. They met their newest challenge: the construction and operation of an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle.
Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and managed by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Foundation, SeaPerch is an underwater robotics program that equips students and teachers with the materials they need to build an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV).
Each kit, valued at $155, contains all the parts required to build a functional underwater ROV. As they build, students increase their understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Hands-on educational tools such as these SeaPerch kits will reinforce what CGLA students learn in their STEM classes and will give them a glimpse at what they could do in various STEM careers after graduating from college.
“I knew this would be a good midlevel project for the club,” said Mr. Bagby, Technology Instructor at CGLA. “SeaPerch teaches basics of circuitry, moving parts, and control systems. It will be good for the students to have a functional understanding of these concepts before we participate in the FIRST Robotics competition in January.”
After learning about the SeaPerch program at the end of last year, Mr. Bagby knew his Robotics Club would enjoy this new challenge. Over the summer he wrote a grant application to the Office of Naval Research explaining the club’s limited funding and his desire to provide his students with the opportunity to build an ROV. The ONR and SeaPerch Program were more than happy to assist the CGLA Robotics Club, providing the club with ten SeaPerch kits and one teacher tool kit. It is already evident that the girls will be building much more than ROVs this semester.