RiverQuest expects to serve about 7,000 students and their teachers onboard EXPLORER during the 2013-14 school year. More than half of these schools are paying little to no fee for their RiverQuest program, as many schools have continued to cut funds for outreach programs and fieldtrips. This is where you can help.

This holiday season, we invite you to help keep this valuable resource available to students and residents of southwest Pennsylvania

As a thank-you for your support, you'll receive recognition online and on board, and a Family Pass for a selected RiverQuest Saturday Sail in May 2014.  Best of all, you'll know that you are supporting a unique and high-impact educational program that helps develop critical thinking skills and promotes student proficiency in science.

Donations of any amount are appreciated.  Thanks for your support! 

The RiverQuest Board of Directors and staff are pleased to acknowledge the support of Jim and Elin Roddey, who shared their 60th Anniversary celebration with RiverQuest on September 21, 2013. Jim and Elin included RiverQuest in their celebration and generously provided the resources to have the reception on board Explorer.

David Maxwell, President, MAX Construction Company and his wife Tracey coordinated the docking of Explorer at the Fox Chapel Yacht Club for the entire weekend. Over 100 family and friends celebrated the occasion on a Saturday evening, when a drizzling all-day rain gave way to a joyous sunset rainbow over the marina. RiverQuest staff helped with many details that went into this event, and Jim and Elin encouraged guests to make a donation to the nonprofit in lieu of gifts.

RiverQuest gives heartfelt thanks to Jim and Elin for making RiverQuest an important part of their life and for making RiverQuest a partner and beneficiary of their 60th wedding anniversary celebration. Sincere thanks also go to David and Tracey Maxwell for their role in the planning and execution of the event.

To view a gallery of photographs of the Anniversary event by photographer

Aimee Obidzinski, click here.

How much waste would a real duck the size of that Big Rubber Duck have produced on September 22, 2013?

According to the National Aviary in Pittsburgh an adult duck produces about 2 T (Tablespoons) of combined liquid and solid waste every 15 minutes during daylight hours. 

September 22, 2013 was the autumnal equinox -- it had roughly equal periods of day and night.  We've assumed an even 12 hours of daylight on that date. In 12 hours, a duck would "go" about 48 times.

If 1 movement = 2 Tablespoons, then 48 movements = 96 Tablespoons.  There are 16 Tablespoons in a cup, so 96 Tablespoons = 6 cups of waste.

We calculated an adult duck's body volume to be about 1 cubic foot.

According to Visit Pittsburgh the big Rubber Duck was four stories tall, three stories wide, and three stories long.  We ignored the duck's head, since most of the volume was in the duck's body, and calculated the volume to be about 30' x 30' x 30', or 27,000 cubic feet.

Therefore, the rubber duck's volume was 27,000 times the volume of a real adult duck. If we stick to a volumetric comparison, the big rubber duck would put out a volume 27,000 times that of the real duck.  27,000 x 6 cups = 162,000 cups of duck waste.

For every 1 gallon, there are 16 cups.  162,000 cups equals approximately

10,125 gallons of duck waste.

Congratulations to our winners who submitted their estimates and showed their work! We enjoyed seeing many different angles of estimation, and look forward to meeting them onboard EXPLORER! 

• Nan B. of Tarentum, PA (Nan matched our estimate exactly!)
• Katherine W. of Oakmont, PA
• Kelly P. of North Huntingdon, PA
• Natalie B. of Douglassville, PA