The Netcong Elementary School 8th grade students welcomed 13 students from the Lenape Valley High School Robotics Team to collaborate on building remotely operated vehicles. The high school students shared their experiences in robotics and engineering. They worked together in small groups to design and build structures using marshmallows, pretzel sticks, and pennies. This marked the beginning of an ongoing partnership between the two schools to build and test Seaperch remotely operated underwater vehicles throughout the spring. The collaboration will benefit both groups through mutual learning experiences.

1. Two Schools Meet To
Talk Robotics
March 17, 2015
Two Schools Meet To Talk Robotics
On Tues. Feb. 17th, 8th grade students at Netcong Elementary
School welcomed 13 Lenape Valley High School (LVRHS) Robotics
Team to work on the Remotely-Operated Vehicle Project (ROV).
Mary Lou DeCaprio, Netcong School science teacher, organized
the event with Jeff Wachelk, LVRHS technology teacher. Netcong
students made welcome signs, as they launched the start of their
Seaperch ROV project. The 8th graders were treated to mini-
presentations from the LVHS students, who shared their robotics
and engineering experiences of last year.
The team consists of a mix of students from all high school grade
levels. Lenape High School students, most of whom have already
taken Wachelka’s Robotics course, have recently started an
independent parent-supervised FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team
that meets as an after school club. At that level they are doing
soldering, cutting/shaping metal and 3D printing parts, as well
as computer interfacing the robots they build.
The high school students spoke about their engineering
experiences. Some of them plan on entering STEM careers and
some enjoy the club as a hobby. Students broke out into smaller

2. groups, one high school “robotics” buddy to every five Netcong
students. They brainstormed and collaborated on unique design
and building of a marshmallow-and-pretzel stick structure that
could sustain the weight of a penny on a paper plate without
crumbling. They closed the meeting by celebrating their success
and eating their sweet and savory products.
Their bonding activity marked the beginning of a collaborative
high school-middle school “buddy” project in the building of the
Seaperch ROV kits that were awarded to Netcong Elementary
School earlier in the school year.
Seaperch ROV’s, sponsored by the Office for Naval Research
(ONR), will be built and tested in a local swimming pool or lake
sometime this spring. In building the vehicles, which will be
controlled by an electronic box that is tethered to the PVC-vehicle,
the students will learn about buoyancy, circuitry, motion and
design.
Netcong students will benefit by their high school role models and
LVHS volunteers will be earning service hours, as both groups
mutually benefit from collaborative learning. Students will be split
into sub-teams made up of Mechanical, Electronic, Design, Systems
and Materials Engineers. All students will be exposed to the
exciting careers that are possible in naval architecture and naval,
ocean, and marine engineering. The two school groups anticipate
monthly meetings throughout the spring.
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