FAU TEAMS WIN TOP AWARDS AT NATIONAL SEAPERCH COMPETITION
by KELSIE WEEKES | Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Five teams from Florida Atlantic University High School and A.D. Henderson University School recently competed in the 2017 National SeaPerch Challenge at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. More than 185 teams from around the world, including Puerto Rico, the Cayman Islands and New Zealand, competed in the event. Each team had to win a regional tournament to qualify.
FAU High’s Team Sea Owls STRIX won first place in the Open Class engineering presentation, and tied for ninth overall with A.D. Henderson’s Team ADH20, who also competed in the Open Class. The Open Class is not separated by grade, and allows teams to try new ideas for tackling the pool challenges with an unlimited budget.
Team SCUBA-Doo, one of FAU’s four middle school teams, won second place with a perfect score in the Puzzle Challenge, where teams were required to move three rings and three cubes from their “origin” to the “platform” for differing amounts of points. Team SCUBA-Doo placed 10th overall out of the 72 middle school teams competing at the event.
“We are extremely thrilled and proud of our students and their performance at the National SeaPerch Challenge,” said Allan Phipps, STEM coordinator for FAU High. “Our teams are already brainstorming and planning how they might improve for next year's competition.”
SeaPerch is an underwater robotics program in which students build Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) while learning basic engineering and science concepts. Building an underwater ROV teaches students basic skills in ship and submarine design, while encouraging them to explore opportunities in naval architecture and ocean engineering.
The FAU teams were sponsored by FAU’s Office of PK-12 Schools and Educational Programs, Advanced Green Technologies, Resolve Marine, Yacht Chandlers, USS Sea Owls Association, Marine Industry Cares Foundation, Dreamscape Studios and CarePlus Health Plans.
For more information on the National SeaPerch Challenge, visit seaperch.org
-FAU-