PORT ANGELES — Technology meets marine biology this summer at Feiro Marine Life Center, as students explore the water under City Pier without getting wet.
Beyond the aquarium tanks of sea stars, knife fish and octopus for which Feiro Marine Life Center is best known, about 30 budding young scientists spent last week building remote submersible vehicles known as ROVs to find the animals they study in their home environment in Port Angeles Harbor.
“This is really fun, and it’s really worth it,” said Ben Logan, 12, of Sequim on Thursday as he sat bent over his submersible to adjust the buoyancy problems that plagued his team’s creation.
Logan and his partner, Stafford Conway 12, also of Sequim, repeatedly dropped the white, cube-like cage into the water from the end of City Pier, trying to get it to remain horizontal so that it could be steered.
Eventually the vehicle was stabilized, and they could move to the next step — testing with an underwater camera.
In its second year, Feiro’s Junior Oceanographer ROV Explorers day camp filled up two full sessions of 14 and 16 students each, but didn’t get enough participants for a third planned camp that was to begin Monday.
A marine biology camp for younger students also is offered at Feiro, with about 100 children taking part in the combined summer day camp activities this year, said instructor Randall Walz, director of education and volunteers at Feiro.
The marine technology day camp for children ages 9-12, held June 30 through July 1, and from July 15-19, attracted students from Port Angeles and Sequim — and from as far away as Sacramento, Calif. — to learn about the intersection of marine biology and marine engineering, Walz said.
“It’s really about the ocean and engineering, which will be needed in the near future,” he said.
Walz noted that Washington state has the highest number of engineering and technology jobs, but is 49th in the nation in producing engineers.
“They need to learn science, but not out of a textbook,” he added, gesturing to where three students bent over the railing, observing the progress of their ROV.
The submersible ROVs were designed by the students, built of short lengths of PVC pipe and foam donated by Hartnagel Building Supply, while electronics were donated by and assembled by Westport Shipyard, he said.
Marine Advanced Technology Education, known as MATE, was introduced by Monterey Peninsula College in Monterey, Calif., in 1997 to improve marine technical education and prepare young people for ocean occupations.
This is the second year that the submersible-robotics class has been offered at Feiro, Walz said.
Last year, the center had access to two waterproof cameras that could be mounted on their constructions.
Last Thursday, students peered at computer monitor screens covered by a blanket, trying to figure out what they were seeing through slightly murky water under City Pier via their ROV’s camera “eyes.”
They attempted to guide the ROVs to pier pilings and the harbor floor, looking for anything recognizable.
Frustrated, two teams of ROV designers used each other’s ROV to practice navigating and identifying objects in the water, with observers peering over the railings of the pier, shouting instructions to a team member who operated a remote control.
It’s not unlike operating a remote-control car, but without being able to see clearly where the vehicle is going, and with two additional directions — up and down, Walz said.
The ROV teams also compete by navigating their submersible machines to go through an obstacle course and collect “O fish,” better known as swim rings, at William Shore Memorial Pool, which donates pool time for the testing, he said.
One day camp remains this season: a Junior Oceanographer camp for children ages 5-8, to be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 5-8.
Day camps for the 5-8 year old age group do not include ROV construction, he said.
There are still several spots open in the camp, Walz said.
Camps cost $120 per student or $100 for students who hold Feiro family memberships, and $90 with the purchase of a new $50 family membership.
Additional information about Feiro Marine Life Center and related educational programs can be found online at www.feiromarinelifecenter.org.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.