See you next year! Stay tuned for updates for 2025’s event, similar to 2024’s event detailed below.
Take the plunge & compete!
Ocean explorers use innovative technologies to fill gaps in our basic understanding of how we impact the ocean and how the ocean impacts us. This knowledge helps us to protect ocean health, sustainably manage our marine resources, accelerate our national economy, better understand our changing environment, and enhance our appreciation of the importance of the ocean in our everyday lives. The 2024 SeaPerch Challenge is inspired by these technologies.
K-12 students from all over the region are invited to build remote-controlled underwater robots. On the day of the competition, the students will guide their robots through a series of challenges. These challenges will test the design of the robots, as well as the skill of the students. The competition is strong, but the fun is stronger.
SeaPerch is a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), a competition, and a community. Our program guides students in building an underwater robot while supplying educators with the tools and training to help them through the process.
SeaPerch is a great project for clubs and at-home use as well. Although SeaPerch was initially designed for traditional learning environments, it also makes an excellent project for outside the classroom.
We’re here to help! Learn more and reach out if you have specific questions.
Professional Development
Led by faculty from the United States Naval Academy, this all-day training will equip participants with all they need to start a SeaPerch program in their own classrooms or after-school programs.
Tuesday, October 31, 8am-3pm Siegfried STEM Lab at TRSA
Navigate your SeaPerch ROV through an obstacle course and a mission course, including a series of tasks. Score points for time and successful task completion.
The Obstacle Course tests high-speed maneuverability and requires the SeaPerch ROV to navigate the course as quickly as possible.
The Mission Course incorporates a mission related to Deep Sea Exploration. Teams will lead an exploration effort including mapping an area, removing marine life from an underwater station, and retrieving samples in an underwater environment.
Teams will have a 5-minute interview with a Judge where they’ll present their team and answer questions relevant to their SeaPerch season.
Students should be prepared to describe the intentional design process they completed for their SeaPerch ROV and their team’s approach to developing this design.
TRSA Funding Center
Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance offers funding that can be used to purchase SeaPerch Kits and Tool Kits. These are available for educators in an in-school or out-of-school setting. As a condition of this grant, all recipients will be required to bring at least one student team to the competition.
We have combined all of our grants into a single general application. This is open year round and reviewed quarterly. Apply by the date below in order to have your application reviewed in time to get your products for the 2024 SeaPerch.
Curiosity, creativity, and a desire to understand the world around us are traits that come naturally to kids. They also happen to be great attributes for STEM professionals. Learning technical content and skills is vitally important. When this learning is tangible and connected to the real world, the impacts can be profound.
SeaPerch aims to reduce traditional barriers to participation in robotics programs and promotes opportunities to engage students and educators in inquiry-based learning with real-world applications. As an educational program, SeaPerch introduces students to basic engineering, design, and science concepts. As a fun hands-on project, SeaPerch engages students and fosters key 21st-century skills, including critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity.
Beyond the experience of building an underwater ROV, SeaPerch provides a supportive ecosystem of students, educators, mentors, and advocates to provide support along the way. Whether you are looking for a fun project at home, an educational program to enhance your classroom curriculum, or a group of people who enjoy tinkering, SeaPerch is for you.
Interested in volunteering? It takes dozens of community volunteers to make this event possible! Sign up to be a judge or support volunteer. We’ll provide onsite training and all the materials you’ll need.
Shift 1: 9 a.m.-Noon
Shift 2: Noon-3 p.m.
Volunteer roles:
Pool Course Judges (30 needed)
Interview Judges (20 needed)
Divers (12 needed)
Logistics Support (12 needed)
Qualifications:
✔️ Register with TRSA and complete a background check
✔️ Be 18+ or have an adult chaperone (who is registered)
✔️ Be encouraging and supportive of STEM pathways for students
✔️ Willingness to engage students in positive and age-appropriate ways
Already a TRSA volunteer? Sign up through our portal. New to volunteering? Register through our system and complete a background check. Learn more about volunteering with TRSA here.
