Page 31 - ar2013

ANNUAL REPORT 2013 29
opposite:
Underwater World
Singapore: Grooming a
new generation of leaders
for the environment at
Keming Primary School
From creating a flter using natural
materials to purify rainwater for their
school’s pond to pledging against
marine l i t tering and spreading
the message among their peers,
the students benefitted from the
mentorship and became infuencers
in their School and beyond.
To bring marine science closer to
everyone, UWS participated in the
2013 Singapore Science Festival,
the biggest annual science event in
Singapore, offering a special sleepover
programme at the oceanarium in
July 2013. Families joining the
programme slept “under the Ocean”
at the UWS’ iconic underwater tunnel
and learnt about marine animals in
an interactive and fun way. To add
depth to the learning experience,
UWS partnered the Tropical Marine
Science Institute of the National
University of Singapore to share
their research on marine animals
with the families at the sleepover
programme.
In January and November 2013,
Underwater World Pattaya (UWP)
participated in the ‘Caravan Science’
roadshow organised by the National
Science Museum of Thailand for
schools in the Southern province of
Trang and at the Maha Sara Kham
University in North-East Thailand with
the aim of raising their awareness
towards environment conservation.
At the roadshows, UWP engaged
the students in a variety of games
and quizzes on marine science from
which the students gained a better
understanding of marine conservation
and how they can play a part for the
environment.
Recognising the power of wildlife
flms and stories to generate interest
and inspire conservation efforts,
UWS supported a number of flm
shoots at the oceanarium, which
included the ‘Kids vs Film’ programme
launched on the Discovery Kids
Channel in June 2013 where children
produced mini-documentaries about
our sharks and fur seals, as well as ‘The
Rainbow Bus’ series for pre-school
children broadcast in Singapore on
the MediaCorp’s Okto TV channel
in October 2013.
In 2013, we continued to pledge
our support for ‘Earth Hour 2013
— Un i t i ng Peop l e t o Pro t ec t
the Planet’ by incorporating the
conservation message – “Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle” in the commentary
for all the daily shows and feeding
sessions, encouraging visitors to take
action against climate change and
environmental destruction. Marine
Biologists at the UWS Curatorial
Department also offered insights in the
newsletters for staff on environmental
issues such as sustainable seafood
and what each of us can do to
minimise our impact on the oceans
and Planet Earth.
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