NOVEMBER 11, 2009

Corrimal kids dive under the sea at UOW

Corrimal Children’s Centre organised a teleconference with a marine biologist from the Great Barrier Reef Authority in late October.

Children witnessed life in the reef first-hand, with a diver taking the children under the water and answering their questions in real time.

Corrimal Children’s Centre’s Director, Kobie Connor said the preschool-aged children have shown an interest in the ocean since the beginning of the year.

“We wanted to further extend on the children’s ability to gather information and have their questions about reef environments answered”, she said.

The children asked a diverse range of questions as the diver firstly examined coral and smaller fish before she entered a shark pool.

Thanks to the University of Wollongong’s Faculty of Education for facilitating access to their videoconferencing equipment, enabling staff to match emerging technologies with the interests of the children.

“We value the opportunity to extend on children’s interests in an innovative way that has previously been impossible”, said Kobie.