かえる GO GO!! (KAERU GO GO!!)

Warrenton Grade School (OR USA) & Okuki Elementary School (Aomori JAPAN) & Columbia River Maritime Museum

Updates:

1st Voyage

M/B KAERU was built by Mrs. Lent’s 7th grade class in Warrenton, Oregon (USA). Her students choose to paint an indigenous style frog on the bottom of the hull, as the word Kaeru (frog in Japanese) sounds very similar to the word for “safe returns.” The students at Okuki Elementary School in Hachinohe, Aomori (Japan) liked the theme so much they decided to name the miniboat M/B KAERU GO GO!!

  • November 2019 - Final preparations in Japan



  • November 28, 2019 - Launch Day

    The Columbia River Maritime Museum Miniboat Program hosted LIVE videos on Facebook for the launching of the 2019 Japanese Fleet of Miniboats from 20km off the coast of Hachinohe, Japan on Thanksgiving Day. Check out the event details here.

    Arrival at the docks:

    Student handoff to the boat:

    Heading out to launch site:

  • February 2020 Update

    On February 13, 2020, the CRMM Miniboat Program posted the following update, “It’s with a heavy heart that we must report M/B Kanehama Maru III and M/B Kaeru Go Go!! are both feared capsized. They battled a fierce storm with waves over 27 feet tall and sustained winds of 40 knots. Let’s hope the next storm flips them right-side up”

    June 8, 2020

    After 134 days of silence, the Kaeru Go Go reported her position about 500 nm from the last. Was the boat upside down?

Columbia River Maritime Museum’s Miniboat Program celebrates 10 years! Over this first decade, the program has provided a global, multidisciplinary STEAM learning experience for 4th through 7th grade classes. Students work in teams to design, assemble, launch, and track GPS-equipped boats. Each classroom learns about maritime history and culture of the Pacific Northwest and across the Pacific Ocean. In 2027, we will also plan to launch our 50th miniboat!

The program is in partnership with Educational Passages and has been supported by numerous organizations and private donors, including Consular Office of Japan in Portland, Pacific Power, NWSTEM Hub, West Marine BlueFuture Fund®, Northwest Oregon Works, and U.S. Coast Guard.