Educator Previews: showcasing S.E.A. Aquarium’s new educational programmes – S.E.A. Aquarium, Dolphin Island blog

To introduce our new and enhanced line-up of educational programmes for school groups, S.E.A. Aquarium held four sessions of Educator Preview on the last week of November. 180 teachers from primary, secondary and international schools attended to find out more about these interactive learning programmes designed to inspire and educate students on marine life, conservation and career awareness.

During the presentation, Gavin Lee, Senior Manager of Education, explained that the three key focuses of our educational programmes are Marine Biodiversity, Conservation Priorities and Career Awareness.

We try to align our educational programmes to local subject syllabuses and also ensure that they are all fun and engaging.

Gavin kicked off the preview by speaking about the key focuses of our educational programmes as well as introduce participants to the new and enhanced programme line-up.

The educators were also introduced to conservation efforts in S.E.A. Aquarium, as well as our conservation group Guardians of the S.E.A.A..

During the coffee break, participants spent some time at a special booth featuring shark jaw models and microscopes for viewing microscopic fish feed. These are the same teaching materials used in our Feeding Frenzy programme. Many participants also took the opportunity to speak with our Conservation and Education team, enquiring details about our various programmes.
Participants were also taken on a guided tour around the aquarium. Not only did they gain a better understanding of the different habitats and marine life, they also experienced snippets of our programmes from the viewpoint of a student.
They also had the rare opportunity to visit Back-of-House areas (just as the students would for certain programmes) to better understand the workings of the aquarium. Here at the kitchen where aquarists prepare food for our marine inhabitants, participants were introduced to the different types of fish feed used.
Participants speaking to an aquarist to learn about his job scope. This is the same opportunity that participants will have during our S.E.A. Aquarium Careers programme.
The previews were very well-received, with many educators citing it as enjoyable and informative. Responses to our programmes have been very positive too.

Our goal for 2018 is to increase educator engagement through previews, workshops and an e-newsletter. We hope that educators will view S.E.A. Aquarium as an important education resource for better teaching and learning, and know that the education team is dedicated to supporting education at all levels.

——— Gavin Lee

More previews have already been planned for the coming months. In January 2018, you will get to preview our new Maritime Experiential Museum (MEM) educational programmes, following the reopening of MEM later this month.

Then in February and March, we will be organising previews for specific programmes such as S.E.A. Aquarium Careers and Feeding Frenzy.

Details and invitation links will be shared nearer to date on this blog so keep checking back.

For more information about our educational programmes, please click here. From January to June 2018, we are  offering promotional prices for our educational programmes for school groups. To enquire about these special rates and staff learning journeys, please email education@rwsentosa.com.