Oregon 5th Graders launch boats into the Pacific

[jssailem]

The article title goes:
Oregon 5th Graders Build A Boat To Sail Across The Pacific

Oregon 5th Graders Build A Boat To Sail Across The Pacific To Japan

A maritime program connects classes in Oregon and Japan to build and track miniature boats as they sail the open seas.

www.opb.org

When we ask where will the future sailors come from, perhaps the teachers in this Oregon classroom may be the source. What an interesting idea. One that can engage young minds on many levels. I especially enjoyed learning that the classroom partnered with the Columbia River Maritime Museum and the Astoria Bar Pilots to launch their craft off shore into the Ocean currents.

 

[markwbird]

Very cool. I doubt it will make it all the way to japan but very cool.

 

[shemandr]

At the very least if this makes youngsters aware of ocean currents it would be worth it. But, there's much more here.

 

[jssailem]

It seems a stretch.. There are lots of hazards along the way, but some flotsam has arrived off the Oregon coast from Japan.

If it only reaches Southern Cal and a surfer finds it, I think the information and experience could inspire some of these students to experiment further.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Sailing seems a perfect foil for lots of learning opportunities. Science, Economics, Social Studies and History, Mathematics. It's all there, if a teacher wants to workup an imaginative lesson plan.
With the integration of cellphone technology and Web-based social media, even if it ended up as part of the Great Pacific Trash Continent, something worth learning could be gleaned from it.

I'm not a fan of the boat's sailplan, but I'm not in a position to pick nits. I love the project goals.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[jssailem]

Will, I think they are more a drift in the current than actually sailing the ocean. But your point is well taken. They are not the same as the Parisian sail boats.