KIZUNA GOU

Wy’east Middle School (WA, USA) & Tanesashi Primary School (Aomori, Japan) & Columbia River Maritime Museum

Updates:

1st Voyage

M/B KIZUNA GOU was built by Mr. Bokens’s 7th grade class in Vancouver, Washington (USA). This fall the students divided themselves into ten teams each responsible for a different part of the project. KIZUNA means “the bonds (between people), (emotional) ties, connections, relationships” and GOU is a common word that is added to the end of boat names in Japanese.

  • November 27, 2019 - Ready for launch

    Students in Hachinohe (Japan) get the miniboat ready to launch!

  • 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:

    KIZUNA GOU was the first in the water:

  • February 14, 2020 - Crossed the International Date Line

    Mini-boat students receive Navy certificate after their vessel crosses international dateline

  • August 18 - 2,000 miles from Columbia River

  • February 2021 - Last reported at sea

    KIZUNA GOU sent its last GPS report on February 1, 2021, only a thousand miles from Oregon. She traveled over 15,020 km while the GPS was reporting!

    As she continues to sail, we wonder where she’ll end up.

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.