Through the generous sponsorship of I&J, students from Spine View Primary, Isikhokhelo Primary and Mseki Primary were able to visit the Aquarium during August. All these schools received a lesson in underwater wonders, and the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Thank you I&J! Your support is really appreciated.
Marine and Coastal Educators Network (MCEN) Conference
The Western Cape MCEN Conference took place on 13 and 14 August. This was a great opportunity for approximately 52 educators from diverse organisations, including our own, to network and discuss important issues relating to marine and coastal education. The theme of this year’s conference was Marine Biodiversity, coinciding with the International Year of Biodiversity, 2010. Several guest speakers presented topics relating to this theme, and knowledge exchange and networking was high on the agenda.
Sleepovers
The Environmental Education Centre at the Two Oceans Aquarium hosted two educational sleepovers in August. Thirty-seven learners from St James Primary visited us on 13 August and Muizenberg Junior School’s Enviro and Hiking Club slept over on 20 August. Only one more date is available for a sleepover this year. Contact education@aquarium.co.za now to book your bed on 3 September!
Young Biologist Course
Thank you to all of those who applied! Applications have now closed and we received a whopping 143 entries. The daunting task of narrowing down this number to 50 students is left to Xavier Zylstra, our senior educator at the Environmental Education Centre. This year’s Young Biologist Course will be running from 27 September to 2 October.
Climate change workshop
Khonzani Lembeni, our Two Oceans Aquarium educator, ran a climate change workshop with five Khayelitsha-based primary schools from 17 to 23 August. This workshop, sponsored by the City of Cape Town, aimed to educate young kids about weather patterns and climate change so that they can make informed and educated decisions that might just end up saving our planet.
Cleanup SA Week (13 to 18 September)
Make a difference by cleaning up a stream or beach near you. Sunday, 18 September, is National Cleanup Day! For more information, go to www.cleanup-sa.co.za.
Educational activity of the month: data collection
This month’s activity is about getting students to use their math skills to understand the management of fish stocks. Meant to be a hands-on experience, it includes measuring the mass and length of a fish, as well as dissecting it. Encourage your students to practice placing the data collected onto graphs and interpreting the trends.
