The event gave students the opportunity to test out the remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, they have been building, by competing in several skill tests in which the ROVs must retrieve items or complete tasks under the water while being controlled by a team member who is not allowed to watch the ROV. That team member is at a computer screen watching and controlling the ROV with their back facing the pool.

“In today’s competition, we have middle and high school students,” said Barb Land, executive director at Square One Education Network, which organized the event. “What we’re trying to do is to give students that beginning experience in engineering. Our purpose is to provide kids and teachers with experiences around science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and we have found that the remotely operated underwater vehicle program is a project-based experience, a place-based experience, and a problem-based experience. These vehicles could go out into the local watershed and be used in environmental studies, but what we’re doing with the competitions is to give them an engineering experience.”

Square One Educational Network is based in Southfield, Michigan.

“We serve the entire state of Michigan,” Land explained.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Thunder Bay Junior High student Dawson Smolinski places his team’s ROV (remotely operated vehicle) into the water at Alpena County Plaza Pool at Alpena High School this morning during the Square One underwater robotics competition.

This is the first time the competition has been held in Alpena, she said.

“We’ve had a great turnout today,” she added. “And, what we love about this is there’s so much on-the-spot problem solving.”

The competition included Alpena and Alcona teams from our area.

“We are so excited to be up here today, and to give so many more students the opportunity to have this kind of rich STEM experience,” Land said. “And, we’re looking to grow. So, we hope that there are other teachers that want to come and take our training.”

She said this summer, Square One will be offering two-day trainings at no cost.

“And teachers can apply for grant funding from the State of Michigan for funding to compete in these challenges next year,” Land added.

Bob Thomson is a Thunder Bay Junior High teacher and robotics mentor.

“Here today, we’ve got our high school robotics team, and then I’ve got seven junior high teams which are part of our Innovators Plus,” Thomson said on Thursday. “I created a class called Innovators Plus. I have a class called Innovators, which is a STEM elective. It’s a logic-based class where kids create robots. We created Innovators Plus for kids that wanted to do more robotics. So, in this class, we’ll do ROV, we’ll do land robotics, and then we’ll do drones.”

He said Thursday’s ROV competition is a good warm-up for the other upcoming challenges.

“That way we get water-based participation,” Thomson said. “This works as a nice warm-up.”

Thomson was excited that Square One was able to host the competition in Alpena. He said the hands-on experience is valuable for the students.

“The best way to do it is by doing it,” he added. “That constant thinking on your feet, and then adjusting to the situation … you don’t tend to get that in a traditional classroom.”