Explore a world seven miles underwater with Deep Sea Robotics, the Science Mill’s newest exhibit! Guide the robotic drone over and around the jagged rocks of a deep ocean trench using a dual-toggle controller. A monitor shows you the drone’s point of view; adjust its camera to peer inside a bubbling hot-spring vent and other surprising features. Deep Sea Robotics is newly open this summer and found only at the Science Mill. “This exhibit was developed and designed entirely in-house by the Science Mill’s team,” says Peter Claffey, Science Mill CEO. “It’s an ambitious concept, at the level of a major national museum like the Smithsonian, and I think visitors are going to be amazed by what our team has created.”
Lots of planning goes into every exhibit long before it appears in the museum; Bradley Gray, the Museum Experience Manager, explains the process. “Sparking curiosity is key to all Science Mill exhibits, so we often start by asking what topics we’re curious about. What makes us say ‘wow?’ When one team member shared his interest in drones—especially underwater drones—it immediately captured everyone’s imagination. What if visitors could operate a drone in a giant tank of water?!”
The team was excited for the possibilities, but needed to plan how it would work. “We first thought about putting a shipping container in the Science & Art Park and making it watertight,” says Bradley. “But it turned out that would take a lot of industrial welding.” Back to the drawing board, with a focus on materials already at the Mill. The museum’s rainwater storage tank seemed like the perfect fit. Could they put a drone inside and add a window for people to see? The team gathered feedback from storage tank experts and aquarium glass designers. Turns out, with that much water, even the movement of a small drone would create too much hydrostatic pressure; the tank would need major reinforcing. And adding a window would increase risk of algae outbreaks. New plan! One of the Mill’s silos would be strong enough…but all were already in use. “Finally, we looked around and realized Studio 5 had what we needed. It’s a round room, just the right size for an above-ground pool,” says Bradley.
Planning out the exhibit space
But what pool? A little research revealed that the portable storage pools used to fight forest fires would work well. With wildfire season, however, the pools were in high demand. So, the hunt continued until Bradley found just the right pool—one that already had a built-in observation window! With a 16-foot diameter, the pool holds 6,000 gallons of water. After adding four layers of leak protection, they were able to successfully fill it up inside the museum. “I think that was the moment we realized, yes, we could really do this!”
Now it was time to test out underwater drones. The team selected a 14-inch-long robotic drone that can travel at eight knots (roughly 9 miles per hour). “Driving the drone for the first time, I realized just how unique this experience is. Being able to move in three dimensions through the water—not just forward and backwards, but up and down at different depths—adds so much,” explains Bradley. “Pretty soon, we were all trying out spins and tricks!”
Testing out the underwater robotic drone
With that in mind, the team worked to refine the experience inside the pool. What could visitors do, explore, test and discover? How could they make the most of the drone’s movements, but keep its tether line from getting tangled? Brainstorm ideas included an underwater obstacle course made of PVC pipes and a mission to uncover treasure from a sunken ship.
Bradley’s topographic sketch
Ultimately, inspiration came from a Science Mill talk by former NASA manager Julie Webster. “Julie noted that more people have been to the moon than have visited the deepest parts of the ocean. That got us interested in the Mariana Trench and Challenger Deep, the deepest spot.” Bradley knew they had hit on an idea that played to the team’s strengths. With expertise in lighting, pumps, and fabrication (including his own background in theater set design), they could recreate the rocky terrain and steaming vents of a deep ocean trench for guests to freely explore. “I started with a massive cardboard circle and mapped out a topographic view to help share the idea with others, then drafted a 3D computer model,” describes Bradley. “We built the main structure with foam concrete, which allows us to carve out the rock formations.”
Preparing the carved foam concrete terrain
Finally, a crucial step: testing out the exhibit with visitors. “When you visit the Mill, you might find us testing something new,” says Bradley. “It’s a chance for technical troubleshooting and, more importantly, for the team to learn from visitors. What’s exciting to them? What questions do they have? Are there things we could change or add to make the experience even better? With the drones, it was so cool to see how quickly visitors got the hang of the controller and POV monitor—it was kind of like a video game come to life.”
A “drone’s-eye” view on the monitor
As the team had hoped, the experience sparked curiosity. “Lots of visitors didn’t know deep ocean trenches existed! They loved learning about the hydrothermal vents and had lots of great questions to discover more.”
Now officially open, Science Mill staff will be at the exhibit to assist visitors and chat with them about deep ocean exploration and robotic drone technology—including related STEM careers. “When kids pilot the drone, they’re trying out an in-demand STEM career,” says Jeff Wheatcraft, Director of STEM Education Growth. “Underwater drones will soon be used to inspect dams, ships and offshore oil rigs, make underwater repairs, and help keep submarines safe from mines.” The exhibit experience serves as a springboard for exploring a variety of STEM fields as well. “You can use this exhibit to explore geology, tectonic activity, sea life adaptations, topographic map-making, robotics, designing materials to withstand extreme environments—the list goes on.” It’s an ocean of possibilities; come dive in with Deep Sea Robotics!