Teacher Larry Ryan (left) surrounded by students in engineering class (Photo: submitted)

This year, Ryan has steered several of his students into the nautical world of boat construction.

Ryan’s students are participating in the 2nd annual Eastern Shore Crab Boat Engineering Challenge sponsored by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Business and Technology. In this competition, teams are challenged to design and build a scaled version of a crab boat where they will be judged in the following categories:  written report, boat design and construction, oral presentation, and performance demonstration. Teams will compete on April 28 at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Education at Horn Point in Cambridge, Maryland.

Along with studying Eastern Shore history, mathematics, and Archimedes principle of density and buoyancy, Ryan’s students are taught safety while using a variety of tools in the construction and design phase.

“This is 21st century learning at its best,” Ryan says. “These students are not only applying theory as they tackle this hands-on challenge, they are producing a tangible product that they have to write about, speak about, and demonstrate.”

Ryan has taught for 35 years with 33 at Stephen Decatur High School.

To read a detailed compilation of how the challenge became, click here.