SOAR

SOAR The Student Organization of Aquatic Robotics (SOAR) is a student-run, non-profit enterprise that works to improve the local watershed.

Created in 2010 by Matthew Zimmer, SOAR (the Student Organization of Aquatic Robotics), is a class at Dollar Bay High School in which students get hands-on experience working with underwater robots. All robots produced by the SOAR class are designed, constructed, and tested during class. Robots are later brought into the community. They are used both as tools to educate young minds about robotics,

and as invasive species hunters in the Great Lakes. SOAR has collaborated with the National Park Service, the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, and Michigan Technological University.

Last day of school today and last post of the year! Today the soar students cleaned up their projects. More to come next...
06/05/2026

Last day of school today and last post of the year! Today the soar students cleaned up their projects. More to come next year!

On Monday the soar team went to the Dollar Bay coast guard to test some of our ROV’s! Here are some clips and pictures o...
05/13/2026

On Monday the soar team went to the Dollar Bay coast guard to test some of our ROV’s! Here are some clips and pictures of what we did!

We’re back!Here are some clips of what the SOAR Robotics Team has been working on 🤖 From designing and building to testi...
04/08/2026

We’re back!
Here are some clips of what the SOAR Robotics Team has been working on 🤖 From designing and building to testing our ideas, we’ve been busy bringing projects to life.
Our next big project is getting ready to share our work at Expo soon—stay tuned! More posts coming soon.

Hard work has its rewards! We love to be able to travel to Isle Royale National Park in the spring. We deliver our ROVs ...
05/08/2020

Hard work has its rewards! We love to be able to travel to Isle Royale National Park in the spring. We deliver our ROVs to the park rangers for use in the national park during the summer season.
We look forward to our trip in 2021.

Place Based, Project Centered Service Learning. How the SOAR enterprise partners with Isle Royale National Park, an organization in our community.

Serving the needs of clients in our community. It is real work that we do. Students have taken SOAR printers into their ...
05/05/2020

Serving the needs of clients in our community. It is real work that we do.
Students have taken SOAR printers into their homes to meet the needs of our partners during times when school is not in regular session.
Here is a quick one minute clip highlighting a business - High School Enterprise partnership.

Real Students, Doing Real Work, Solving Real Problems

It is not for "smart people." SOAR is the safe place to make mistakes on our journey to becoming "smart people."Enjoy a ...
05/04/2020

It is not for "smart people." SOAR is the safe place to make mistakes on our journey to becoming "smart people."

Enjoy a two and a half minute clip on our ROV designs and the tools we use to create them.

Our Designs, Our Tools, Our Enterprise

"Nothing."If that is what you hear when you ask a kid what they did in school that day, you are not taking to a SOAR mem...
05/01/2020

"Nothing."

If that is what you hear when you ask a kid what they did in school that day, you are not taking to a SOAR member.

Parents reveal life skills their children have developed in the discovery learning environment elemental in the SOAR enterprise.

"What did you do in school today?" "I dunno." This is NOT the conversation parents have with kids in the SOAR program. Find out what parents think when you v...

What is with the funky "O" in the SOAR logo?Get a little insight into our marketing team in today's two minute video cli...
04/30/2020

What is with the funky "O" in the SOAR logo?
Get a little insight into our marketing team in today's two minute video clip. Thanks to Monte Consulting for the professional guidance helping the team develop the new logo.

The media team is essential element of the SOAR enterprise. Media specialists have their hands full with blog posts, social media upkeep, and website design....

Three minutes to discover how the SOAR enterprise functions as an elective class. Thanks to all that share the great wor...
04/29/2020

Three minutes to discover how the SOAR enterprise functions as an elective class. Thanks to all that share the great work done by students at Dollar Bay - Tamarack City Area Schools

The structure of the SOAR High School Enterprise Rookies are taught the basics of ROV design, construction, tool use, current electricity, and wiring. Vetera...

Don't have twenty minutes? Take just three and a half minutes to learn how SOAR got started. Originally founded under th...
04/28/2020

Don't have twenty minutes?
Take just three and a half minutes to learn how SOAR got started. Originally founded under the umbrella of the High School Enterprise program at Michigan Technological University, Dollar Bay - Tamarack City Area Schools SOAR enterprise team continues to present at the Design Expos hosted by Pavlis Honors College-Michigan Technological University.

In 2010, mathematics and science teacher, Matt Zimmer, created a science elective that would function in a number of ways. First time students would develop ...

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Dollar Bay, MI
49922

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