ATTN: Educators! Aquarium of the Pacific

Are you a homeschooling parent or an educator that is looking to put The Marine Sciences into your curriculum?  Is the nearest aquarium to far or expensive to bring your class to for a learning experience?

The Aquarium of the Pacific now has educational videos on request to help you teach your students at the leisure of your computer!

STATE SUPERINTENDENT HONORS AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC

FOR INNOVATIVE VIDEOCONFERENCING PROGRAM

Videoconferencing allows Aquarium educators to provide live, hands-on learning experiences for students around the world

Long Beach, CA—The Aquarium of the Pacific has won a 2013 Superintendent’s Award for Excellence in Museum Education for its interactive videoconferencing program. Videoconferencing allows the Aquarium to deliver its education programs to classrooms around the world. “This expanded reach, spreading the Aquarium’s messaging beyond its walls, is a key example of how the institution fulfills its vision, connecting people in a shared mission of protecting natural capital,” says David Bader, Aquarium of the Pacific director of education.

The Superintendent’s Awards for Excellence in Museum Education competition is a joint project between the California Association of Museums (CAM) and the Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. CAM received twenty entries representing a diverse range of institutions and the contributions museums make to California’s K-12 educational system. After a formal evaluation and scoring by three reviewers, California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson chose six recipients, including the Aquarium of the Pacific. The awards will be presented in late February at the 2013 CAM conference.

In fifty-minute videoconferencing sessions available for students of all ages from kindergarten through twelfth grade, an Aquarium educator teaches interactive marine science lessons remotely in a screen-to-screen format similar to online video chat. Students are expected to participate, asking and answering questions, and even conducting dissections.

The Aquarium debuted the Roddenberry Foundation Education Videoconferencing Studio in 2011, with founding support from the Roddenberry Foundation. Groups can schedule a videoconference with an Aquarium educator by calling (562) 951-1630 or find more information online.

The nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific is a community gathering place where diverse cultures and the arts are celebrated and a place where important topics facing our planet are explored by scientists, policy-makers, and stakeholders in search of sustainable solutions. General Info: 562-590-3100 or www.aquariumofpacific.org   

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