ElasmOcean guest-hosted at Europe's largest swimming school
The "Sharky Sportsclub" in Cologne, together with ElasmOcean, opened its doors to 50 children and their parents on Sunday, 8 August 2021. A diverse programme focused on sharks and the marine environment awaited the young researchers. Which shark species exist and why are they so crucial to the ocean ecosystem? What are the primary threats facing sharks and other marine organisms? Which sharks possess which dental structures, and why? What impact does plastic waste have on our oceans, and how can individuals reduce their plastic consumption? How are fish affected when entangled in a net?
Using numerous specimens, films, experiments, crafts, and educational games, the children were prepared to solve a unique quiz at the end: centred around our model great white shark, Haidi, they were able to demonstrate their skills in Sharky's swimming pool. Diving and swimming, they proved themselves as "Junior Marine Conservationists". We welcome all young marine conservationists to the ElasmOcean family.
Our sincere thanks go to "Sharky" Martin Becker and his team at the "Sharky Sportsclub" in Köln-Lövenich, who made all of this possible for us. You are outstanding!
Was that the end of it? No: we are planning a repeat event in collaboration with Sharky and his team.
An important note: as we were literally overwhelmed with enquiries prior to this date and the event was fully booked within ten hours, we are offering exclusive priority booking for the follow-up event to all those who received cancellations from us. We will inform parents well in advance of the official announcement of the next date.
ElasmOcean guest-hosted at „Sharky am Schloss“…
… and when we write "Schloss" (castle), we mean exactly that!
The historic swimming pool at Schloss Bensberg in Bergisch Gladbach was firmly in the hands of ElasmOcean on the fourth weekend of October. This location of the „Sharky Schwimmschule am Schloss“ hosted the second ElasmOcean Ocean Day. Over one hundred children were able to immerse themselves in the world of the oceans and sharks this weekend, in the truest sense of the phrase: after learning about the sea and its inhabitants through interactive play, they entered the water to join our "Haidi".
One of the mothers described the event for her participating child in an email of appreciation:
„Dear ElasmOcean Team,
Today, I brought a very joyful child to your event and picked up an even more joyful child afterwards. She has shared a great deal, though certainly not everything yet, as there was simply too much information to process at once. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this project and this day. I have rarely seen so many friendly people in one place who clearly take so much pleasure in their work and are fully dedicated. Since feedback is often only negative, it is of great importance to me to express how FANTASTIC I find this project!“
We welcome all young marine conservationists to our ElasmOcean family.
Our special thanks go to Martin Becker, Jürgen Ignatzy, and their team, especially Lukas, Jan, and Daniel, who made all of this possible for us. And we promise, we will be back!
Ocean Day at the Sharky Schwimmschule in Köln Lövenich … and we did it again!
It is rapidly becoming a tradition: we have already completed three dates at the Sharky Schwimmschule over the past few months – on 1 November, ElasmOcean and its team guest-hosted once again at the Sharky Sportsclub in Köln-Lövenich. Over 60 children had to "rescue Haidi" in a fun, interactive way after completing various educational stations: our model shark was in distress, surrounded by floating plastic debris. Thanks to many diligent young helpers, "Haidi" was cleared of the plastic. As a reward, the children were then able to dive and play in the water with her.
A long day completed with many happy children, parents, ElasmOcean members, and swimming instructors, all dedicated to the cause of marine conservation.
We would like to express our warmest thanks to Martin Becker and his team (particularly Michelle and Julius) for their excellent ideas with the children in the swimming pool.
Due to the high level of demand, further dates will follow in the spring – advance announcements are constantly updated in our calendar at https://elasmocean.org/tun/termine/.
