DMS Anita
Dudley Middle School (MA)
Updates:
1st Voyage
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About the DMS Anita Crew
January 19, 2024: Week 1
At Dudley Middle School, 26 sixth and seventh grade students decided to embark on a journey with three faculty members. The project is being funded by MIT Sea Grant through their STREAM Grant which supports coastal education and community science. It was inspired by the Thompson Middle School miniboat project, the TMS Sea Challenger. DMS students met the TMS miniboat crew and URI Graduate School of Oceanography staff at the 2023 Ocean Race Stopover in Newport, RI.From MIT SEA GRANT:
- Empowering Student Citizen Scientists: Miniboat Program for Global Ocean Stewardship (Dudley Middle School)
This project, led by Dudley Middle School science teacher Stacy Lynch, will launch an after school program utilizing the Educational Passages Miniboat Program, creating inclusive learning experiences for the Dudley Middle School community. Through building, deploying, and tracking a Miniboat at sea, students will connect with their local environment and community, as well as with communities around the world. Organized into teams (Launch, Cargo, Deck, Hull & Keel, Sail, Media & Tech), 5th and 6th grade students will help build, manage tasks, and track progress, while the 7th and 8th grade students equip the boat with satellite transmitters and sensors for data collection. The project aims to foster ocean literacy and engagement, and promote understanding of ocean currents, climate change impacts, and global cultural connections.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE JANUARY 19, 2024 (WEEK 1) DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
- Empowering Student Citizen Scientists: Miniboat Program for Global Ocean Stewardship (Dudley Middle School)
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January - May 2024: Preparations
January 26, 2024: Week 2
Students made choices for the teams they wanted to be on, and the official Crew work began.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE JANUARY 26, 2024 (WEEK 2) DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
February 2, 2024: Week 3
Teams began working on their tasks.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FEBRUARY 2, 2024 (WEEK 3) DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
February 9, 2024: Week 4
Teams continued working on their tasks.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FEBRUARY 9, 2024 (WEEK 4) DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
February 20, 2024: Week 5
Teams continued working on their tasks.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FEBRUARY 20, 2024 (WEEK 5) DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
March 2, 2024: Week 6
Teams continued working on their tasks.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE MARCH 2, 2024 (WEEK 6) DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
March 8, 2024: Week 8
Teams continued working on their tasks.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE MARCH 8, 2024 (WEEK 8) DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
March 23, 2024: Week 9
Teams continued working on their tasks.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE MARCH 23, 2024 (WEEK 9) DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
March 29, 2024: Week 10
Teams continued working on their tasks.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE MARCH 29, 2024 (WEEK 10) DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
April 5, 2024: Week 11
Teams continued working on their tasks.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE APRIL 5, 2024 (WEEK 11) DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
April 26, 2024: Week 13
Teams continued working on their tasks.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE APRIL 26, 2024 (WEEK 13) DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
May 3, 2024: Week 14
Teams continued working on their tasks. Their work was also featured in the MIT Sea Grant Newsletter!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE MAY 3, 2024 (WEEK 14) DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
May 10, 2024: Week 15
Teams made final preparations for launch soon.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE MAY 10, 2024 (WEEK 15) DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
May 16, 2024: Social Media Highlight from the Town of Dudley
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Voyage 1: May 20 to May 28, 2024
May 17, 2024: Boat Delivery Special Edition
The DMS Anita was delivered to the deployer this week!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE MAY 17, 2024 (Boat Delivery Edition) DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
May 20, 2024: Update from URI GSO
The following email was shared on May 20 by URI GSO:
“Dear Bay Campus,
R/V Endeavor departs today, Monday May 20, at 10 am for the New England Shelf Break on EN716. They will deploy a 48 foot long acoustic array with chief scientist Laurie Fialkowski and other scientists of the Naval Research Lab in Washington DC. Also an Educational Passages miniboat from the Dudley (MA) Middle School will be launched during the cruise. Endeavor will return to GSO on Sunday, May 26.
Unfortunately, the Bay Cam still is not working but there are plenty of places on campus to view her departure. Pell Library has a particularly nice view. And you can follow Endeavor travels anytime on Endeavor Now.
Attached is a photo of Endeavor at sunrise on May 14 by Trish White, a member of the construction crew working on the pier.
And listen for her horn as Endeavor heads out!
Take care,
Veronica”
May 21, 2024 – Update from the R/V Endeavor Crew
“Miniboat DMS Anita was launched at16:23:20 Eastern Time20:23:20 Greenwich Mean Time39° 24.11′ N 070° 52.08 WPics to be sent later… Lots of fun was had here for the launch. Thank you for the opportunity!”
We want to thank the whole crew at URI GSO and the R/V Endeavor including Andrea, Lynne, and Matt for communicating with us throughout the event.
Check this out: Within an hour of launch, we received the first image from the DMS Anita at sea!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE MAY 24, 2024 ‘Anita has launched‘ DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
May 28, 2024 – Approaching shore already!
After only a week at sea, the DMS Anita appeared to be headed back to shore. It sailed by Martha’s Vineyard (almost heading back to Rhode Island to see the R/V Endeavor perhaps??) and then up Vineyard Sound to Falmouth, MA. By the evening of the 28th, it had landed in Falmouth Harbor. Our good friend Jim Manning had an early dinner and ventured down to the beach to greet it, recovering it safely.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE JUNE 4, 2024 ‘ DMS MINIBOAT UPDATE
View this post on Instagram -
Voyage 1: Complete
The DMS Anita‘s first voyage occurred May 21 to 28, 2024. It was recovered by Jim Manning in Falmouth, MA and brought back to the school. Click on the titles above to explore more, and below for its next adventure.
2nd Voyage
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June 5, 2024 - Ready for Voyage #2
The DMS Anita miniboat was prepared by students at Dudley Middle School in Massachusetts. Click on the titles above to explore more.
In June, it was brought back to URI Graduate School of Oceanography for a second launch from the R/V Endeavor during the RITAS 2024 cruise June 7-9.
June 5, 2024 – Ready for Voyage #2
Some of the DMS crew delivering the miniboat to the ship:
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June 8, 2024 - A World Ocean Day Miniboat Launch
The DMS Anita was launched back to sea from the R/V Endeavor on the afternoon of June 8, 2024 (World Ocean Day!). More details and pictures will be posted soon.
Sensor Data
The boat has two GPS systems onboard. One is the main GPS, which reported locations to the map at the top of this page. Here below is where you can see the data reporting from the second GPS which is connected to the sensor package. In addition to reporting location with a secondary GPS tracker, this system was also collecting air temperature, water temperature, and orientation. It also has a camera! The sensor package was installed by the students. Note that the map below only shows data from the last 7 days. Contact us for more information or to access full sensor data.
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July 6, 2024 - Recovered off coast of Nova Scotia
After less than a month at sea, the DMS Anita was discovered by Captain Andrew Fudge and the crew of the F/V Mary Bernice about 5 miles from land off Nova Scotia. Andrew called the number on the deck and after a quick chat, was able to keep it aboard and therefore save it from a rough landing! The boat will be brought to a nearby school once the crew returns to port from Halibut fishing (check out the size of the one they caught compared to the size of the miniboat!).
We are so grateful to Andrew and his crew and excited that the adventure will continue.
Scroll to the bottom of this page to explore the data from the on-board sensor system.
