{"id":1534,"date":"2011-06-01T10:48:00","date_gmt":"2011-06-01T14:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/?page_id=1534"},"modified":"2024-10-09T13:15:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T17:15:29","slug":"people-places-discovery-key-to-early-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/people-places-discovery-key-to-early-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"PEOPLE & PLACES: Discovery Key to Early Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
A toddler reaches into the touch pool tank at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher and encounters a starfish for the first time. A young boy takes a tour of artifacts from the famous ship Queen Anne’s Revenge, and imagines being Blackbeard’s first mate on the seven seas. A little girl spends her day saving mermaids in the ocean while on a fishing boat at the Children at Play Museum.<\/p>\n
Early awareness of coastal education through aquariums, museums and parks along the coast is making learning fun for children and their parents.<\/p>\n
“It’s so important to reach children at a young age so their senses of discovery, of exploration, of curiosity start developing early on. I can’t imagine what my own life \u2014 and education \u2014 would have been like if I hadn’t been exposed to nature, to wildlife, to exploring the outdoors when I was very young,” says Terri Kirby Hathaway, marine education specialist for North Carolina Sea Grant.<\/p>\n
Opportunities vary in subject and target ages. Programs include parent-child activities, summer science camps, live performances and special traveling exhibits. Learning through play is a key approach in teaching young children.<\/p>\n
For example, the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher has summer camps divided by age range. Aquanauts (ages 5 to 6) learn through animal interaction and play, while Marine Detectives (ages 7 to 9) use investigative skills in outdoor programs and interactive games.<\/p>\n
“The N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher has a commitment to inspire appreciation and conservation of North Carolina’s aquatic environments through education,” says Peggy Sloan, the facility’s director and former education curator. “It is critical for students to be aware of North Carolina’s natural places, and to understand their value.”<\/p>\n