Our Sea of the Future project, dedicated to promoting marine science to school children, has just come to an end. We held the last workshop in the Sinj branch of the CCO “Juraj Bonači”, which is attended by people with developmental disabilities. There were many interesting questions, but we also learned a lot from them.
Thank you very much for welcoming us so kindly! We would like to thank your teachers Tamara Šušnjara and Lidija Domazet, as well as the work instructors Ana Madunić and Katija Karmelić for the invitation!
We are delighted that this project has been recognized by teachers, professors and directors and are proud of what we have achieved. The Sea of the Future team consists of three of our scientists, Daria Ezgeta Balić, Barbara Zorica and Marija Šestanović. In total, they visited 25 elementary schools and organized more than 45 workshops in which about 1,000 students and about 70 teachers participated. The importance of this project for the popularization of marine science was also recognized by UNESCO and included in the list of activities that will help raise awareness of the importance of the sea as part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).
With the aim of spreading knowledge about the oceans even after the end of the project, the guide “Ocean in our hands: Guide to ocean literacy” was published. The guide is primarily aimed at teachers to provide them with additional information and ideas on how to teach their students about the ocean. It was distributed to all schools that participated in the project, as well as to all other interested schools, associations and individuals.
Professor Andreja Dorić from Elementary School Darda shared her opinion about the guide, but also about the project itself: “We had the honor and privilege to work with the Sea of the Future team last year and get to know many marine organisms in the most beautiful way. It was a real benefit for the students who live in Baranja and do not often have the opportunity to get to know the marine world. The guide is wonderful, extremely useful in the classroom, clear and well-reviewed. A particularly inspiring chapter for teachers is Activities for a better understanding of the principles. We will try to implement the suggested ones. Congratulations to the authors of the guide!”
Although the project is officially finished, our scientists are not resting and are already preparing new content. We invite you to visit the project page www.futuresea.eu and follow our Facebook page to keep up to date.
“The main goal of the project was to raise awareness about the ocean among elementary school students on the Croatian mainland and in smaller schools in rural areas and on the islands. We are very pleased with the response from the schools. Although the project planned only 15 workshops, we organized many more because we did not want to turn anyone away, and in the end we managed to respond and hold workshops in all the schools that contacted us. Sometimes it was a real challenge because we had to run 4 workshops in one day in different locations to save the costs, but we believe it was really worth it because an investment in children is the best investment. Another important outcome of the project is the network of teachers and professors that we have created and that we hope to continue working with. Once again, a big thank you to everyone for their hospitality,” emphasizes the Sea of the Future project team.
Special thanks go to the Adris Foundation for recognizing the potential of this project and supporting it financially. I would like to sincerely thank everyone who supported us on this trip and we look forward to future projects that will further improve knowledge about the oceans among younger generations!
