Plymouth’s National Marine Aquarium, an initiative of the Ocean Conservation Trust, is providing the background for an exciting series of free, live lessons for children and their parents.
The live lessons will assist with home learning while also providing a chance for young people, their parents and teachers to gain some of the wellbeing benefits that have been proven to come from watching aquatic life.
Every Friday during lockdown, viewers will be able to tune in to two special shows on the aquarium’s Youtube channel www.youtube.com/user/NMAPlym
The first, ‘Deep Science’ (1pm – 1.20pm) will see the Aquarium’s own Schools Team using aquarium exhibits and lab facilities to explore the science behind the animated ocean exploration tv series ‘The Deep’ (CBBC @12pm on weekdays during lockdown).
Key themes for each week are as follows:
Jan 22 – Creature Classification;
Jan 29 – Nautical Navigation;
Feb 5 – Ocean Mysteries;
Feb 12 – Megafauna;
Feb 19 – Life Cycles;
Feb 26 – Looking after the Ocean
‘Mermaid Tales’ will air from 1:30 – 1:45pm and will involve a short story narrated by the Aquarium’s resident mermaid, Marina – perfect timing before an afternoon nap, or as a gentle, relaxing start to the afternoon.
Stu Higgs, schools programme manager for the Ocean Conservation Trust, said: “With the news of further school closures hitting the headlines in the New Year we wanted to make sure we were doing our bit to support the thousands of students and teachers who visit us at the Aquarium every year.
“Research has shown that encounters with marine environments (physical or virtual) have a powerful effect on our emotional state and general wellbeing, and with the country in lockdown there has never been a more important time to ensure everyone has access to a weekly dose of ocean.”
In 2020 the Ocean Conservation Trust also launched virtual tours of the Aquarium and downloadable lessons for schools, which teachers can incorporate into their home learning plans for students of all ages.
These sessions have been updated to include capacity for up to 100 home-based students to connect to and participate in simultaneously in response to the school closures announced at the start of the year.
Full details of all the school support materials and offers from the OCT are available online at https://oceanconservationtrust.org/support-us/schools/
