A hands-on project-based engineering program allows students to build their own remotely operated underwater vehicle, called Sea Perch. The Sea Perch program is run by the Office of Naval Research through its National Naval Responsibility for Naval Engineering (NNRNE) program. Scientists and engineers from NSWCCD attend Sea Perch construction training sessions with classroom teachers and then they work with the students in the classroom, either during the school day or as part of special after-school engineering clubs.

During the construction of their Sea Perch, students learn to use a variety of tools and equipment, including PVC pipe cutters, wire strippers, soldering irons, and multi-meters. The scientists and engineers assist the students through all the stages of construction, helping them wire and waterproof their motors, teaching them how to wire the switches and power cables in their control box, and assisting them as they troubleshoot their Sea Perch.

A culminating field trip to NSWCCD or to a public pool gives the students the opportunity to test their Sea Perches. During a Sea Perch competition, the students maneuver their ROVs through obstacle courses and recover objects from the bottom of the pool.

For more information about getting the Sea Perch program started in your school, contact www.seaperch.org.

The Calculator-Controlled Robot Program enhances math concepts taught in elementary, middle, and high school. Students learn TI Basic programming language as they program their graphing calculators to perform missions which were modeled after the MARS Rover program. The curriculum was developed by Mr. Tuchscherer, an Einstein Fellow and math specialist in the NASA Explorer Schools program. The curriculum for the Calculator-Controlled Robots is available for free download at NASA's website:

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Calculator-Controlled_Robots.html

To complete the missions, students learn to program their calculator robots to carry out a variety of tasks, including determining distance from speed and time measured with the robot, exploring the relationship between circumference, diameter, and pi, and programming the robot to navigate a maze. Extension exercises include using the calculator robot to simulate NASA's Crawler-Transporter, which was used to transport the Space Shuttle from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch platform.

The robots are manufactured by Norland Research (www.smallrobot.com) and sold as kits. Assembling the kits involves attaching the wheels and traction covers, the touch-sensor bumper, installing the batteries, and configuring the link cable to attach to the calculator. Any Texas Instruments Graphing Calculator (TI-83 series, TI-84 series, TI-85 series, TI-86 series, TI-89 series, and TI-92 series) can be used with the robot.