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Ocean Conservation Trust launch downloadable lessons & Virtual tours of the National Marine Aquarium
11th September 2020
Ocean conservation charity, the Ocean Conservation Trust – which also runs the much-loved National Marine Aquarium - to launch an exciting curriculum learning project. For 22 years, the Ocean Conservation Trust has been providing an exciting and engaging learning programme, using the Ocean as a hook for teachers to deliver all subjects of the curriculum. The programme is co-created with teachers and comprises sessions and workshops that support curriculum-based learning at all key stages and abilities. The aim is to help people become ocean literate and #ThinkOcean.
On 10th September 2020 the Ocean Conservation Trust launches its first lesson. Teachers will be able to download self-contained lessons featuring video and resources, which link to the primary science curriculum and uses the Ocean as a tool for exploring the curriculum. The lessons are totally accessible and easy for teachers to use and have been piloted through the Connect Academy Trust.
In addition, the Ocean Conservation Trust is launching virtual tours, where visitors can virtually pass between the three distinct zones of the aquarium; the first covering local coasts and rockpool shallows and marine life that’s found slightly off shore; the second exhibits the inhabitants of the Atlantic Ocean, where some of the aquarium’s biggest animals live - such as the sharks and turtles; and the third region covering the tropical reefs - with familiar favourites Nemo and Dory – as well as follow up science activities, there are follow up art and literacy activities; all of which will be evaluated to see what learning has taken place. The tours will be given by marine biologists and scientists, working with trained teachers and youth workers who also have marine science qualifications.
The Ocean Conservation Trust is offering these virtual tours so that pupils all over the UK have the chance to learn about the Ocean. Living in the UK, no one is ever further than 70 miles from sea, but these virtual guides and lessons mean distance is not an issue. Next year sees the start of the UN Decade of the Ocean and the virtual tours and lesson plans are aimed to get the UK off to flying start. Alongside the tour, activities and lesson plans are offered as a package bundle giving users up to 2- or 3-days’ worth of activities and homework.
The virtual tours will be bespoke – and the National Marine Aquarium is the only aquarium in the world offering this - where one class or potentially two will be taken on an hour and a half virtual tour, which is the same length as an in-person tour. The class will be taken around the aquarium, work interactively and the children will have the opportunity to ask questions as if they were really in the aquarium.
The resources will also be updated every term, so what is in place for the autumn term will be updated for the spring term, with the charity reinvesting the money into the project. Ahead of the launch a teacher survey was conducted to see what was wanted from the learning packages and the tours and plans will be continually updated with any feedback. The only equipment needed at the schools’ end is a projector - and speakers ideally – basically what teachers would usually use to show a film to the class.
The Ocean Conservation Trust is not only concerned with general conservation – the charity wants to help educate and is aware that teachers are looking for things to support them in the classroom; how to make the curriculum interesting – particularly over the coming months when travel and school trips will be limited.
Nicola Bridge, Head of Conservation Education and Communications for the charity, said:
“Despite the Ocean representing the largest living space on the planet and being essential for the survival of all of us, it has traditionally been overlooked in the National Curriculum, which is something we, as an Ocean conservation charity, feel strongly needs to change and we want to encourage active learning. Despite some of the continued Covid-related restrictions we are all under, our virtual tours and downloadable lessons will help teachers and pupils get access to valuable resources and interactive activities, and won’t have to put Ocean learning on hold.
“The UK is a national and global leader in marine science, and we feel Ocean related teaching should therefore be an essential part of the core curriculum offering for all schools and want to help facilitate that.
“The Ocean provides half of the oxygen we breathe, drives the weather and climate and is a valuable food source for much of the world, and to look after it for future generations, we need to create an Ocean literate generation – that is to say, a generation that understands the ways in which we are all inextricably connected to it, just as it is to us.”
Stu Higgs, Schools Programme Manager for the Ocean Conservation Trust, added:
“In England, the National Curriculum includes some flexibility, and it can be translated in many ways by different schools, allowing dynamic teacher input. However, as it has always had a terrestrial bias and is still currently framed towards terrestrial ecosystems - and in the primary science curriculum, excludes Ocean related topics altogether - many teachers have limited previous experience in teaching marine topics.
“With this in mind, we are delighted to launch these downloadable lesson plans and virtual tours. Providing this cross-curricular Ocean themed learning programme is a huge step in the right direction – not just for Ocean conservation, but for the blue economy too. There are many STEM career opportunities related to the Ocean and ensuring that school children are made aware of these from an early age will broaden their horizons when choosing a career path to follow later in life.”