CWRU doesn’t only share its resources and expertise with those who are currently earning degrees. Since 2006, the Leonard Gelfand STEM Center has been teaming up with the Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL) and the Great Lakes Science Center to put on Shipwreck Camp, an immersive experience for 12-16 year olds to learn about communication and navigation sciences. This summer, the camp returned for two weeks from July 8-July 19.

“In its first year, the camp was an experimental week of engaging youths in those subjects. They built ships, went scuba diving and participated in science activities regarding the Great Lakes, oceans, weather and robotics” says Susannah Hamm, who was the CCPL’s Science and Technology Specialist when the camp began. “Both the children and their parents were very happy with the new program, and asked that we repeat it again the following year.” Since then, Shipwreck Camp has returned annually, and has now welcomed campers for the 19th year.

The Agenda of Activities

Cleveland’s beginning-of-summer heat wave created a warm welcome for the camp’s many outdoor activities like snorkeling, scuba diving, canoeing Headlands Beach State Park in Mentor and visiting Camp Patmos in Kelleys Island. The 23 campers learned to use the tools of an explorer, met local experts and visited nearby facilities and outdoor spaces that enriched their learning experience.

One of the standout projects was building a modified remotely operated vehicle (ROV) equipped with working lights, cameras and underwater mobility with the help of CWRU’s Sears think[box] 3D design and printing technologies. The ROVs were then tested in the Wade Lagoon, Veale Recreation Center pool and Lake Erie. Other collaborations included daily weather checks with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a livestream with Nautilus Live to learn about their voyage in real time and visits to the U.S.S. Cod Submarine Memorial and the International Women’s Air and Space Museum.

Lake Erie provides the perfect environment for learning about such subjects– its shallowness has allowed for many wrecks due to unadvanced communication and navigation. Campers were introduced to explorers and researchers from the Cleveland Underwater Explorers (CLUE), who locates and documents wrecks in and around Lake Erie, and has estimated that there have been about 2000 wrecks in Cleveland’s great lake.

In addition to their immersion into local scenes, the campers learned the story of Ernest Shackleton, a captain who tried to find the South Pole and experienced being lost at sea, rescuing his own crew and exploring many parts of the world that were still uncharted. A visit to the Great Lakes Historical Society gave the campers a view of a film on Shackleton’s voyages, in addition to their reading of the book Shackleton’s Stowaway that provided a more detailed storyline of his journeys.

With such a packed two week schedule, these campers got to immerse themselves in many unique adventures now that summer has set sail.