Organised by National Oceanography CentreTo see our ocean thrive, we must make sure our children understand it and are empowered to shape its future. Will you help our scientists bring ocean science to life in schools, and educate future generations of scientists and informed citizens?
Our ocean is the most important ecosystem on Earth, but is all too often considered to be 'out of sight and out of mind’. If we want to see our ocean, and our planet thrive, we must make sure our children understand our ocean and are empowered to shape its future.
With our focus on advancing and sharing knowledge, we are well placed to play a fundamental role in educating and training future generations of scientists and informed citizens.
We have a pool of specialist scientists and engineers ready to bring STEM learning to life, and connect children and young adults to the wonders of the ocean and the exciting careers that it provides. With your support we can expand this pool and train even more experts in STEM outreach, plus fund more opportunities for them to get into communities, schools and events to share their passion with the next generation.
We have scientists like Cian (see gallery), eager to visit schools and share their work with young people. Cian’s work involves analysing sediment cores to study areas such as climate change, geohazards, and carbon capture.
People think that mud isn’t that interesting. But when they see and hear about the stories it can tells us, they go away with a new appreciation.
When Cian visits schools and colleges he like to take a museum style exhibit of sediment cores and models along with him. He finds these kinds of visual display really helpful in bringing his work to life.
Being able to share his passion for science with a new generation is why he loves being involved in outreach.
Hearing that you inspire people, hearing the enthusiasm for our research. We have been told that we have inspired teenagers to go on to study oceanography at university. It’s so rewarding.
We want to support more staff like Cian go out into the community and share the wonders of the ocean with young people. This is why we have launched our Ocean Education Campaign. Part of this campaign will involved creating a bursary to help give more staff the opportunity to get involved in outreach activities.
We want to increase the number of school visits so as more children can learn about our ocean, its importance, and the career opportunities it offers, but that is not all.
We also want to develop a suite of dedicated resources that will add real value to the school curriculum, and at the same time, bring ocean science to life.
Altogether it costs around £250 for a member of staff to visit a school or college, design and deliver a talk, and provide samples, models and resources to take along.
We know from Cian, and many others, that these visits really do change children’s lives.
We would really like to do more outreach. It is really important to go out into the community, especially to schools, this is because they probably aren’t aware that careers like mine exist.
It is essential that we support children to understand and feel passionate about our ocean if we are to see it, and our planet thrive. The best way we can do this is by making sure the ocean is part of their childhood and their education.
You can make this happen. By supporting this campaign, you can give a child the gift of knowledge, empowering them to shape the future of our planet.
So why not make a gift today that will have impact for generations to come.
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