Mr. Reagle’s students at Shaler Area Middle School have been working on an enrichment unit based around Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Regatta. Enrichment means the students’ work is entirely ungraded and they choose to engage purely to learn and be a part of the experience. This is in addition to the already rigorous curriculums they experience in their regular classrooms.
For the SAMS Regatta, students grouped into 14 teams and participated in a series of events that all link to what once was the quintessential summer Pittsburgh experience, the Three Rivers Regatta – though the vast majority of my students had never even heard of the event. Not surprising since the last time we had a 3-Rivers Regatta was in 2018 and my oldest students would have only been 7 years old at the time. Teams earned points based on how they place in each of the events striving to be the event’s overall Regatta Champion.
Competition Event #1 – Three Rivers Regatta History
Groups were all given one week to study the same set of study materials that included links to new casts, websites, archived commercials/film, and some print media. The content spanned the highs & lows the Regatta experienced since its inception back in 1978. Each group then took a quiz to determine which of them demonstrated the best ‘student skills’ of studying/learning.
Competition Event #2 – Anything that Floats (picture attached)
Patterned after the most memorable of the Regatta events, the Anything that Floats event was a fun way to get Pittsburgh organizations involved and generate awareness/funds for local causes. In our SAMS Regatta version, students had to build a device that would float on a column of air. The devices also needed to bring awareness to Cause the group deemed important. Points were awarded for (1) The time the device spent aloft, (2) The maximum height the device achieved, (3) a public vote sent out to parents/community based on which device had the best aesthetics.
Special Event – Guest Speaker: Joe Kirk, founder of the Allegheny Point of Sailing league and ex-Vice Chairman of the Three Rivers Regatta committee. (photo attached)
Mr. Kirk spearheaded the movement to bring sailing onto our rivers – something that was previously thought impossible until he demonstrated otherwise. Mr. Kirk visited the classroom and taught the students how to sail using a model that he created for such an event. It was an excellent presentation and inspired several students to travel to The Point to watch his youth league’s end-of-season sailboat race on the Allegheny.
Competition Event #3 – Sailboat Racing
This event required student to construct two devices. (1) a sailboat that would fit in our SAMS Raingutter Raceway & (2) a windmaker to propel their sailboat. The sailboat could be made from whatever materials the students wished to use. To make the windmaker, each group was given a DC motor and a switch. They had to construct a handle for their windmaker and 3D design and print fan blades that would attach to their motors. They then had to learn about circuits and how to solder to complete their design. Every groups’ windmaker was powered by their standard 12W brick for their school issued iPads to ensure the input energy was consistent across groups. Once complete, teams ran time trials on the Raingutter Raceway. The team with the highest average speed across three time trials was the winner. I’ve attached a picture of some of the sailboats and windmakers on display in the classroom.
Competition #4 – Barge Building
In this event, each group of students were given the same exact limited set of building materials: 4 popsicle sticks and 3 sheets of aluminum foil. They received nothing else and could not acquire replacements. On the day of the competition, the group who constructed a barge that held the most pennies prior to sinking was the winner.
Competition #5 – Powerboat Racing
We finish the SAMS Regatta in the same fashion that the Three Rivers Regatta traditionally ended – with powerboat racing. I reached out to Mr. Slater Harrison, retired teacher from the Williamsport region of Pennsylvania, who devised a reliable method for students to fabricate a steam-powered Putt Putt boat using an aluminum can. Putt Putt boats were popular toys in the late 1800’s in America. The students first utilized Mr. Harrison’s design to construct their own steam engines, set to work on designing/building their boats, and then tinkered with features in attempts to improve speed. Points for this event will be determined again using time trials to determine speed and another public vote to determine which accomplished the best visually appealing boat design. Time trial results will seed a bracket system and we’ll utilize both lanes of the Raingutter Raceway to see which group wins the head-to-head challenge!
Heading into the Powerboat competition, there are four groups poised to claim the title of Regatta Champion depending on the outcome of our final event. The competition has been intense, the group collaboration has been enjoyable, and the prototype development has at times been challenging. Overall, the entire unit has been a memorable learning experience for everyone involved.
