Boaty McBoatFace was NOT a debacle. It was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get kids interested in climate science with programs like "The diary of Boaty McBoatFace" or "Zoom call with a Boaty McBoatScientist" all around the world in classrooms. Hell, even in high school I would've taken an elective that was doing actual work if it was Boaty McBoatFace-themed*.
*not to say that I'm young enough to have been in high school at the time, but that it would appeal to kids that old
The debacle was that they were too stuck up to realize what a gift they'd been given and completely squandered it. Boaty McBoatFace was beautiful. For a couple days, the internet cared about science in the absence of technology.