Underwater robotics projects offer an excellent medium for discovery based engineering and science learning. The challenge of building underwater robotic vehicles and manipulators engages and stimulates a very broad spectrum of engineering disciplines and scientific concepts. This paper describes the successful design and implementation wire guided remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) with motorized grabbers. These projects help to expose practical design, foster creative problem-solving skills and may aid retention on engineering programs. Ongoing work is described to extend these projects to include computer control and sensory feedback, to develop autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Further, ongoing work is outlined to assess the effectiveness of these modules. These robots are tethered by a series of wires that send signals between the operator and the ROV. All ROVs are equipped with a video camera, propulsion system, and lights. Other equipment is added depending on the specifications required. These include a manipulator arm, water sampler, instruments that measure clarity, light penetration, temperature, and depth.