In 2015, Mid-Atlantic Robotics IN Education (MARINE) became a core program within the Ocean Academy suite of opportunities. MARINE closely aligns students and educators with the cutting edge technology and scientific research at BIOS, and reflects BIOS’s commitment to expand the use of underwater vehicles within ongoing efforts to study and understand the complexity of ocean processes. MARINE is a multi-year design and engineering program that engages Bermudian students and teachers in the scientific concepts and practical applications of underwater robots.
MARINE focuses on Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), hundreds of which are currently employed underwater around the globe by marine industries, underwater archaeologists, and scientific research programs. As students and educators learn to build and test ROVs in the classroom, MARINE supports and enhances science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. In addition to STEM based training, MARINE provides experiences that encourage the development of skills such as project management, critical thinking, teamwork and communication.
MARINE is comprised of 4 main components:
- Annual ROV design and piloting challenge for students aged 10-22
- Workshops for teachers and students participating in MARINE
- Teacher Toolkits including educational materials and curriculum ideas as a resource for technology education and STEM based learning. The current Teacher Toolkit is provided by the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) center, which consists of instructional videos on how to assemble the Angelfish ROV following free log-in to the MATE website
- Students throughout each of the Ocean Academy programs will be positively impacted by MARINE-themed training as they take part in ROV design challenges at BIOS
MARINE is generously supported by lead donor RenaissanceRe, with additional support from BAC Group of Companies and others.