Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)
Workshops & Competition

Educators ROV Building Workshop is an easy, fascinating and fun way to teach underwater technology to students and this workshop teaches you how to do just that! The ROV Building Workshop is hosted by NOAA Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary and Georgia Aquarium in partnership with Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center and is conducted in Atlanta at The Georgia Aquarium. During the course of the nine hour workshop that takes place on a Friday evening and then all day Saturday, participants build an ROV from PVC pipe and other materials and test their design by "flying" it in a pool. Also discussed is how ROV technology can be infused into high school curriculum that is tied to state and national standards. A presentation on the technology of ROVs and how they are used in research, monitoring, and exploration in our national marine sanctuaries is given as well as an overview of the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center and their regional and national student ROV competitions. There is no fee for this workshop but you must apply and be accepted to attend. The ROV Building Workshop is limited to 20 teachers.

Invitational ROV Building Workshops are an alternate option since many teachers are not comfortable teaching ROV building even after taking the workshop offered at the Georgia Aquarium. Through this program Gray's Reef staff may be invited to your school to teach your teachers and/or students. All expenses including materials and travel must be paid by the inviting school or organization. For more information please contact Cathy.Sakas@noaa.gov.

Savannah Science Seminar ROV Building Workshop is an opportunity for students to get first hand training in building ROVs. The three-session workshop is offered through Savannah Science Seminar, which is an honors science program for selected juniors in the Savannah-Chatham County School System. The students participate in two building sessions and one final "flying" session where they actually practice flying their ROVs in a pool and then compete. Prizes go to the best built machine and the best performing machine and all walk away as winners in this unique program.

Gray's Reef Southeast Regional MATE ROV Competition provides an excellent opportunity for teachers and their students to "show their stuff" by competing for the right to represent our region in the MATE International ROV Competition. Each summer the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center hosts an international competition for teams at advanced and intermediate levels. The teams must be winners of their regional competition to advance to the international competition, which is held in a different location each year. Visit Marine Advanced Technology Center for more information about the MATE Center and the International ROV Competition. Don't forget to register your team in the Gray's Reef Regional MATE ROV Competition!
Click here for 2012 Competition Registration Information.

2010 ROV Competition Highlights
At each regional and international competition students, coaches, mentors and parents are surveyed to determine the effectiveness of the ROV building and competition program. We always knew that the benefits were high, however the results of last year's surveys underscores markedly how critical his program is for students; but don't take our word for it, please read for yourself in ROV Middle School Highlights!