A SeaPerch Teacher Workshop is scheduled to start Friday at Ketchikan High School.

The SeaPerch Professional Development courses are an opportunity for teachers to learn how to build an Underwater Remote Controlled Vehicle (ROV). SeaPerch is a joint effort of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the National Defense Education Program, and STEM AK, a program of the Juneau Economic Development Council (JEDC). The goals of the course are to support and enhance the effective teaching of science and engineering in Alaska, utilizing hands-on, minds-on activities with students.

Fourteen teachers from the Ketchikan School District, Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka, and the Challenger Learning Center in Kenai will attend the SeaPerch Workshop on from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.

The course introduces concepts and skills focusing on design, engineering, buoyancy, propulsion, and problem solving using construction of an underwater ROV as a platform.

Workshops are open to teachers in fourth through 12th grades, as well as home school educators and leaders from youth organizations like Scouting, 4-H, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

For more information on SeaPerch workshops, visit stemak.org/seaperch. Contact SeaPerch Instructor Robert Vieth at rvieth@jedc.org or 523-2342 with questions or to schedule a workshop.