To commemorate National Education Day, 300 students from high schools in Greater Jakarta attended a marine science education and entertainment program on Friday and Saturday at the Ancol Oceanarium (Gelanggang Samudra Ancol), North Jakarta.
National Education Day is celebrated on May 2 in Indonesia.
The program, called the Oceanarium Conservation and Education program, is held by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the Jakarta State University (UNJ) and Ancol Oceanarium.
"Through this program we can raise the younger generation's awareness of our marine wealth. This motivates them to understand our biological diversity and to conserve our oceans," said Syamsul Maarif, director general of marine, coastal and small island affairs at the ministry, Saturday.
"Marine science education should be started at an early age to provide the next generation with a better knowledge of maritime affairs," he added.
The program consists of camping at a site in Ancol and a tour of several locations including a walrus enclosure, freshwater and seawater aquariums as well as a dolphin pool. The students had the chance to watch a dolphin show, in which some of the students had the opportunity of interacting with the marine mammals.
Some 52 of the 300 students joined an educational camp called educamp. They spent the night at the Ancol camp and visited the enclosures to observe the animal's nocturnal activities.
"The *educational camp* program was introduced to give students an opportunity to explore our marine biodiversity," said Y.J. Harwanto, head of corporate planning at PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol.
The program does not only facilitate the education of high school students, second and third year students from UNJ also participate in the project.
"The project is run by the Biology Department at our university and is part of our maritime conservation course," said Hanum Isfaeni, students' advisor on the project.
While answering questions from high school students, Marlina Purwati, a UNJ biology student said: "I enjoy this program because I act as a guide to the high school students. I am delighted to have the opportunity to introduce them to the subjects of marine biodiversity and conservation."
Hanum said there were around five to seven students from each high school, and all were very curious and enthusiastic about the program.
"This is an exciting program. It broadens my horizons," said tenth-grader Fara Dila from Al Azhar high school in Bekasi while watching the dolphins.
Another student, from state high school SMU 82, Panji, said he had learnt a lot from the program. He had learned more about the role of marine animals in keeping their habitat and the environment healthy.
"Students are encouraged to be familiar with language used in naming marine animals. They are usually named in three languages, Latin, English and Indonesian," said Fitriyeni, a mathematics teacher from state high school SMU 3 in Tangerang. (nia)
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