Barnes 5th graders christened their miniboat Grizzly Bear on Tuesday, December 19th at Kelso's City Hall in front of parents and community members. The ceremony included student presentations on the process, a poem reading, and even a bottle breaking on the hull.
Over the course of 10 weekly visits the students built and weighed the vessel, designed the art, experimented with keels, water temperature and salinity, and were introduced to Native American canoe journeys. S/V Grizzly Bear will be deployed by U.S. Coast Guard Cutter ALERT in early January.
The STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) project was done in partnership with Columbia River Maritime Museum and made possible by a generous donor.
You can visit educationalpassages.org/events/atsea to track the S/V Grizzly Bear's journey once it hits the sea. The miniboat is set to be launched in January.