Last Monday, a group of students from 5th and 6th class from Kilglass National School in Co Galway delivered their 1.5 metre unmanned mini sailboat called ‘Seoltóir Na Gaillimhe – the Galway Sailor’ to the Marine Institute’s research vessel, RV Celtic Explorer, in Galway Harbour.
Marine Institute scientists will deploy the mini-boat from the RV Celtic Explorer into the Atlantic Ocean, near the M6 Weather Buoy, during the AIMSIR (Atlantic In-situ Marine Scientific Infrastructure Replacement ) survey.
The mini-boat is equipped with a sail and a satellite tracker, or transmitter, which allows the students to track it as it sails across the ocean and gain a better understanding of ocean currents. This initiative is part of the international educational passages programme which connects schools from across the globe through the mini-boat activity.
Congratulating the collaborative effort of the explorers education programme team, Kilglass National school, the infrastructures team at the Marine Institute, as well as Educational Passages in the USA. Patricia Orme, joint acting CEO said: “The Explorers mini-boat project is a wonderful example of marine science literacy and citizen engagement with the oceans. It supports the Marine Institute’s Oceans of Learning campaign which highlights the value of partnerships essential for sharing marine science with the wider community. For children, this project provides an exciting way of seeing real life examples of how the ocean has an influence on all our lives, learning how the ocean influences our weather and climate, and the types of technology used.”
Peter Kane, teacher at Kilglass National School, added: “It has been a comprehensive STEM project and cross-curricular in nature. Using the boat as a focal point provides a great example of how teachers can integrate marine themes through a range of cross-curricular activities. This included learning how the boat was built, to covering a range of science and technology concepts using GPS and satellites.”
Padraic Creedon, Explorers education officer, Galway Atlantaquaria said: “It was great to see the children increasing their understanding of the ocean, completing science experiments and producing amazing class presentations about our ocean. The children also learned about marine biodiversity in the ocean from the smallest microscopic plankton to the largest animals in the world – the blue whales migrating across the Atlantic.”
The provision of the boat has been funded as part of the EU Interreg iFADO project, in which the Marine Institute is a partner. Engaging in the mini-boat project, the iFADO consortium of researchers are launching five mini-boats this year around the Atlantic from Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, and the UK.
Cushla Dromgool-Regan, Explorers strategic education manager, Camden Education Trust, said: “People all over the world can monitor and track the mini-boats in the ocean, including Seoltóir Na Gaillimhe – the Galway Sailor. The project webpage is available to children, teachers and their classes. This is a really fun way of connecting people, and predicting where the boat may land is part of that experience. At least 11 mini-boats have landed in Ireland since 2009, and some have been recovered, fixed, and relaunched.
“Currently there are six actively reporting boats in the Atlantic, and some in the Pacific as well. Both the Explorers education programme and educational passages are absolutely delighted to see another boat leaving Galway, and look forward to seeing how it can connect more people around our world ocean.”
To follow the mini-boat Seoltóir Na Gaillimhe – the Galway Sailor, visit: https://educationalpassages.org/boats/seoltoir_na_gaillimhe/
