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| The 2017 Ausable River Canoe/Camping Expedition group |
By Chloe Johnson
Each year, teachers create STEMmersion ideas to propose to the administration to have approved before introducing the options to students. Mr. Bottelier, the 9th grade Conceptual Physics and Engineering teacher of seven years with the Dayton Regional STEM School (DRSS), has created an adventure which has never been done before.
To give you some background about Mr. Bottelier, he actually wanted to be the biology teacher, but he was given the opportunity to teach STEM students in the 9th grade about the completely different topic of Conceptual Physics.
When asked why he wanted to teach 9th graders, Mr. Bottelier stated, “It’s actually my favorite age to teach, and I thought the subject was interesting. It is the age group that I wished to work with, as my ninth grade year was a very difficult one, and I felt that helping students at this age would be a wonderful experience.”
Mr. Bottelier has decided to create a STEMmersion that is unique and innovative. Twenty students and their adult chaperones will embark on a journey traveling along the "best river system for a canoe/camping trip," according to Mr. Bottelier, who is an experienced outdoorsman with over 35 years of camping/canoeing experience.
This STEMmersion will be an exciting venture as the members will paddle the entire 120-mile length of the Au Sable River from Grayling in central Michigan to Oscoda on the shore of Lake Huron. Within this river system, there are five hydropower dams, good fishing, adequate fresh drinking water, and special canoe portages.
When asked what he is most looking forward to as the teacher of this course, he stated, “Teaching students how to love the outdoors, the adventure of getting away from technology, out of range of cell phones, and especially teaching them how to enjoy camp cooking, gourmet style.” Students were told that this would be a mostly “vegetarian fare” because coolers would not be brought on the journey with them. When asked what students could look forward to during the STEMmersion, Mr. Bottelier stated, “Physical fitness, the unpredictable, the beauty of an incredible river system, and enjoying being with a pretty amazing group. I don’t think I could’ve hand picked a better group.”
The students will have to carry their own gear and canoes over dams and at the portages. When asked about what students could potentially learn, Mr. Bottelier proclaimed, “Lots of life lessons, but especially how to move a canoe gracefully, how to drop all the drama and focus on what’s important.”
The students in the STEMmersion began preparing for this voyage early in the school year by attending two canoe-training sessions. They will attend an additional meeting before the STEMmersion during late spring at Caesars Creek Lake.
I hope everyone who participates in this STEMmersion has a wonderful time, and remember to follow the DRSS canoe STEMmersion 2017 on Facebook to keep up-to-date on their journey.
