- October 21, 2024
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Buddy Taylor Middle School SeaPerch team Manta Rays compete in the obstacle and challenge course at the University of Maryland. Courtesy photo
Team Manta Rays — Lucas Strunk, Sophia Costa and Nathan Cabrera Delombard — meeting and networking with students from the Experimental School of Beijing University, Beijing, China. Courtesy photo
Buddy Taylor Middle School SeaPerch advisor Tracy Jones with Team Manta Rays Lucas Strunk, Sophia Costa and Nathan Cabrera Delombard. Courtesy photo
Buddy Taylor Middle School's Team Manta Rays competed in the International SeaPerch Challenge May 30-June 2 at the University of Maryland and got to meet other top competitors from around the world.
SeaPerch is an underwater remote operated vehicle, similar to a remote controlled submarine. BTMS had nine students participate in its SeaPerch program this year.
"The goal of this program is to help students learn engineering skills in a fun and creative environment," said Tracy Jones, the school's SeaPerch advisor. "Students must design and build their ROVs from scratch using the given supplies in their kits."
The students practiced during the school year at the Palm Coast Aquatics Center. Buddy Taylor's four teams competed in the Greater Jacksonville SeaPerch competition on April 13 with the Manta Rays team of Lucas Strunk, Sophia Costa and Nathan Cabrera Delombard placing first and receiving an invitation to the international competition.
According to the SeaPerch organization, the students that were invited to internationals are considered to be among the top 5% in the world, Jones said.
"Internationals was a great trip," she said. "We did not do as well as we had hoped. We had some buoyancy issues with our ROV. The students were able to complete the challenge and obstacle course but did not score as well as they have done in practice."
The Matna Rays placed 66th overall our of 71 middle school teams, finishing 61st for the technical design report, 63rd in obstacle course and 58th in challenge course.
"The kids had an amazing time," Jones said. "They have a ton of new ideas. They networked with other students from all over the world. There were a total of 174 teams from 32 states and U.S. territories, five countries and four continents. They met students from New Zealand, China, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Puerto Rico and all over the United States. They are eager and excited to start building a new robot with their new ideas. It was a wonderful and exciting learning experience for all of us.
"We are looking forward to starting again in August."
