Primary school students awarded for participating in the Explorers Education Programme
Primary school students awarded for participating in the Explorers Education Programme
The Marine Institute recently presented up to one thousand primary school students on the East Coast of Ireland and Cork with the Explorers Certificate of Participation after completing activities and projects set within the Explorers Education Programme .
The Explorers Education Programme seeks to develop an interest in Ireland ’ s coast and extensive 220 million acre marine resource , which is one of the largest in the EU , among primary school students .
“ The Programme now includes Dublin , Wicklow and Cork and continues to be an outstanding success under the guidance of the Lifetime Labs , Cork , and the Blackrock Education Centre and the National Sea-Life Centre Bray ”, commented Dr Noirin Burke , Explorers Education Officer at Galway Atlantaquaria .
“ Working with a dedicated group of marine educators with the common goal of introducing students to Ireland ’ s rich marine resources , the programme and workshops are currently used by over 50 schools reaching over 5000 thousand students ”, she added .
On the East Coast of Ireland , Explorers aquarium tanks with a variety of sea life typically found in rockpools around Ireland were installed into nine classrooms of different schools for six weeks by the National Sea-Life Centre , Bray .
“ Using the aquariums to bring sea life into classrooms is an innovative way for students to learn about Ireland ’ s marine species and to gain vital skills in science , literacy , maths and geography ”, said Tomás Ó Briain , coordinator of the Explorers Project at Blackrock Education Centre .
“ Providing teachers with an information workshop and weekly visits to the schools to find out about
Celebrating the award at St Anthony ’ s National School , Cork
the students ’ experiences and caring for the aquariums provided a fantastic way to engage with the students on marine topics . Providing opportunities for students to develop an interest in the marine now will no doubt be of huge benefit to the sustainable development of our marine resource in the future ”, he noted .
At the Lifetime Lab , Cork , students from 21 primary schools participated in the Explorers Primary Marine Science Workshops , engaging with marine related experiments and activities on topics such as
St Kevin ’ s National School , Sallynoggin , Co . Dublin the Real Map of Ireland – including Ireland ’ s marine resource and identifying marine species found on Irish coastlines .
Speaking about the popular workshops that ran for two weeks , manager of the Lifetime Lab and organiser of the workshops Mervyn Horgan said , “ Raising awareness of marine science in classrooms brings long term benefits to students and to Ireland . The Explorers Education Programme and workshops are an innovative way of engaging in science education , combining topics of sea life , science and geography with practical experiments and activities ”.
Dr Burke also thanked the Marine Institute , noting that “ The support provided by the Institute ensures that the Explorers Education Programme continues to engage with students on a variety of marine related topics early in their education . In addition to developing a richer appreciation of marine life at a young age , the students have gained essential skills in maths , literacy , geography , science and art required in their future education ”.
The Explorers Education programme was developed by the Marine Institute in collaboration with a number of key partners including Galway Atlantaquaria , Sealife Bray Aqauriaum , Blackrock Education Centre , Galway Education Centre and the Lifetime Lab , Cork and has been running for over seven years . A wide variety of marine based lesson plans , activities and science experiments , including details on the Real Map of Ireland – Irelands marine resource , can be downloaded from www . explorers . ie .
www . explorers . ie
SCIENCE SPIN Issue 58 Page xx