APRIL 16, 2025 – A STEM robotics workshop held at the Wenatchee Convention Center in Wenatchee, Washington, March 6, as part of the annual Washington Industrial Technology Education Association conference, has generated excitement among middle and high school teachers across the state. The event introduced teachers to the Seattle Manufacturing and Industrial Council’s Core Plus Maritime Curriculum—a state-funded program focused on maritime-related skills—through presentations and hands-on experience building and piloting underwater remotely operated vehicles.
Sixteen teachers, representing at least 1,300 students, participated in the day-long training, co-led by Sam De Lano and Erin Guizzetti, STEM outreach coordinators at Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, respectively. While aimed primarily at middle school teachers, the event also drew some high school teachers.
To give teachers firsthand experience of the learning process—so they could better adapt and implement the curriculum for their own students—the workshop was structured to resemble a typical middle school classroom setting.
“We operated it as we would a classroom full of middle school students, asking questions, having them participate, and giving them examples of how [ROVs] might be used and what types of missions they might want to run,” said De Lano.
The day began with presentations by De Lano, Guizzetti, and NUWC Division, Keyport Engineering Technician and longtime STEM volunteer Rusty Grable on the basics, history and diverse applications of ROVs. This was followed by a safety briefing, a live soldering demonstration, and a question-and-answer session.
After the presentations and Q & A session, the teachers broke into smaller working groups and began building their own ROVs. The building process—which involved measuring and cutting polyvinyl chloride pipe for the ROV frames, soldering wires, waterproofing motors and attaching them to the frames with straps—condensed what would normally be six weeks of learning into a single morning, according to Guizzetti. While this presented some logistical challenges, the instructors worked closely with teachers to ensure a smooth learning experience.
In the afternoon, the teachers moved to an indoor pool, where Grable taught them about the importance of neutral buoyancy for piloting ROVs in underwater environments. The teachers then added buoyancy tubes to their ROVs and tested them in the pool, navigating a series of challenges set up by Guizzetti.
“We allowed educators to not only see our curriculum, but to ask questions and dive deep into how it might look in their classrooms,” said Guizzetti. “Then they got the hands-on experience of building the ROVs—seeing where they might struggle, where they can excel, and getting the support they needed to feel confident bringing the program into their classes.”
The workshop ended with a session in which teachers shared their experiences and discussed ways to implement the curriculum in their own classrooms.
The event was met with enthusiastic responses from teachers eager to implement the curriculum and share it with other STEM educators in their districts. Several teachers contacted De Lano afterward requesting parts lists and curriculum materials.
Stephen Howard, a teacher at Meadowdale Middle School in Lynnwood, Washington, called the event “a really great session,” adding, “I will definitely be doing this with my students next year!”
According to Tory Gering, director of programs and communications at SMIC, the training was “the favorite professional development [session] of this year’s conference.”
“The participants were happy; it inspired new conversation around using underwater ROVs as a student competition,” said Gering. “Several teachers—including old-school welding teachers—plan to incorporate [the ROVs] into their classrooms.”
The positive feedback has prompted discussions among SMIC; NUWC Division, Keyport; and PSNS & IMF about expanding the workshop next year into a more comprehensive offering with the potential to reach even more students.
Grable said events like this help build a stronger Navy and nation by providing educators with the knowledge and tools needed to inspire future engineers and technicians, many of whom will go on to work in fields or jobs that directly contribute to our national defense.
“It might just click somebody’s interest and help them make that decision to go into some sort of skilled trade [vital to the Navy’s work],” said Grable. “This is particularly important for this area and the type of industrial base we have. We need that technical expertise.”
Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport is headquartered in the state of Washington on the Puget Sound, about 10 miles west of Seattle. To provide ready support to Fleet operational forces at all major Navy homeports in the Pacific, NUWC Division, Keyport maintains detachments in San Diego, California and Honolulu, Hawaii, and remote operating sites in Guam; Japan; Hawthorne, Nevada; and Portsmouth, Virginia. At NUWC Division, Keyport, our diverse and highly skilled team of engineers, scientists, technicians, administrative professionals and industrial craftsmen work tirelessly to develop, maintain and sustain undersea warfare superiority for the United States.
Story by Frank Kaminski
Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport