Sevastopol SeaPerch Robotics Team Wins Second Place at Regional Competition

(From left) Eighth-graders Inho Lee, Ezra Linnan, Jordyn Welch and Sam Herrell, with teacher and coach Chad Retzlaff. Submitted.

The Door County Maritime Museum (DCMM) congratulates the Sevastopol School District’s SeaPerch underwater robotics team for winning second place at the North Coast Marine Manufacturing Alliance’s northeast Wisconsin regional SeaPerch competition Feb. 22.

The Sevastopol team earned its trip to the regional competition in Green Bay by winning the first Door County SeaPerch competition at the Sturgeon Bay YMCA. The DCMM sponsored the competition in collaboration with the Einstein Project, the Door County YMCA, Hands on Deck, the Navy League and Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding. 

For its success in Green Bay, the Sevastopol team will participate in the 2020 International SeaPerch Challenge May 30-31 at the University of Maryland. Like the local and regional competitions, it will include an in-pool obstacle course and a mission course. 

SeaPerch is an innovative, underwater-robotics program that equips teachers and students with the resources they need to build an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) from a kit and follow a science and engineering technology curriculum that teaches basic engineering and science concepts with a marine engineering theme. 

Key goals are to provide meaningful opportunities for students to learn about robotics, engineering, science, and mathematics (STEM) and to enhance their skills related to robotics and the engineering design process. Throughout the project, students learn engineering concepts, problem solving, teamwork and technical applications.The Sevastopol team also won $500 for travel expenses to Maryland. The Sevastopol School District is trying to raise additional funds to cover the estimated $2,500 needed for the students to attend the International SeaPerch Challenge.