The Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation's collaboration with Christel House started in 2020, in response to the national lockdown, as online sessions of our Junior Biologist and Smart Living courses for their Grade 5 and 6 learners. This shift to online teaching was made possible thanks to sponsorship from AVI.

In 2021, the Foundation expanded its offering to Christel House, by including taking mobile puppet shows to the Grade 1 to 3 learners, as well as offering our Marine Science Explorer courses to Grade 8 and 9s. This year we were able to continue this partnership, all thanks to AVI.

What activities did we do?

• Mobile puppet shows to Grade R to Grade 3 students - “It was such a pleasure visiting Christel House. The teachers were very welcoming on our arrival. The learners were well-mannered, and very focused during the presentation,” commented ECD Educator Jerome Stationway.

• Grade 4 learners had a lesson on “What is a Fish”, using a frozen sardine and PowerPoint to focus on key features of these animals. This was followed by a second lesson on "Life in Rock Pool"s which included examining live sea stars, sea urchins and sea anemones.
• Grade 5 learners had lessons from our Junior Biologist Course including Life in Rock pools, Turtles vs Tortoises, Fish and Sharks and Penguins.
• Grade 6 learners – Lessons from our Smart Living Course dealing with Biodiversity, Water, Energy and Waste management.
• Grade 7 leaners – Class lessons on Biodiversity and Rocky Shore Ecology 

These activities are available to schools and ECD centres all over Cape Town. Learn more here.

"I was with the 7A boys when Chanel did her presentation on Biodiversity. It was truly very exciting and informative. She captured their interest with the images and videos, as they listened attentively. Just after answering their many questions, I informed Chanel that one of our areas of focus is careers. Immediately, she not only explained to the boys about the host of career opportunities at the Aquarium, but also shared her own field of study with them.  She also mentioned the value of volunteering and the skills and experience acquired when doing so. Thank you so much again for a very insightful session," said Grade 7 teacher Wendy.

Thanks AVI for making this amazing opportunity possible!