Education Passages: A STEEM Project.
The rv Bobcat was a whole school project supported by parents and the broader community. The central question addressed was
When she was ready
Neah Bay was selected as a launching site for several reasons. One, it is the western-most point of the lower 48, and it is beautiful. The student reaction to that beauty:
- It’s hard to describe beauty in English. It’s hard to determine what someone is trying to say when words get overused, and words are losing their meaning. That being said, with the intention of using the full power of my words: Neah Bay is astonishing.
- I could see the tall trees towering over me and casting shadows ten times their height, and I could see rolling hills and mountains covered in a thousand shades of green to the bottom of the sky, and I could see the crashing waves foaming white against the beach, and I could see this all from my cabin porch and carseat window.
- I loved closing my eyes on one of the warmer nights and listening. Winds softly rustling, a gull or two calling, the thundering waters, the crackling fire- it was symphonic, to say the least.
But more important, it is the U.S. home of the Makah Nation; a resilient maritime culture of the North West. https://makah.com
On June 3rd, the entire school went to Neah Bay, WA to launch our craft. The launch group:
We spent four days learning about the environment, culture, and people of the Makah Nation. It was wonderful.
And then we all took the rv Bobcat to sea on the Windsong, https://fishneahbay.com/
And launched her;
The winds were against us, and two days later she was on the rocks in the only section of coast where she could be recovered.
She was found:
And recovered:
And she came back home;
The rv Bobcat will be relaunched; most likely in September.
Dexter Chapin
06/17/2019
References:
If you are interested in watching the WaPrep Bobcats boat sets sail, please donate by clicking this link.