On March 3rd, the world will observe World Wildlife Day, a day to celebrate the environment, appreciate the integral role it plays in human wellbeing and raise awareness about the need to protect it.

The United Nations, which spearheads world Wildlife Day, has announced that this year, the theme is ‘Life Below Water: For people and planet.’ UN Secretary-General António Guterres said “On this World Wildlife Day, let us raise awareness about the extraordinary diversity of marine life and the crucial importance of marine species to sustainable development. That way, we can continue to provide these services for future generations..”

At Aurora Early Child Education, as we work to conserve the environment, we also believe it’s necessary to introduce our children to the importance of sustainable living and conservation. Our curriculums are designed with sustainability in mind and educators are mindful to explain concepts in a way that children will engage with. This weekend, Aurora recommends that you take your little ones on an excursion to the Melbourne Aquarium, so they can understand and meaningfully connect with what we are trying to conserve.

What to See

The Melbourne Aquarium, otherwise known as SEALIFE Melbourne, has 12 zones, each dedicated to different species, ecosystems or activities. The Penguin Playground is a white wonderland of snow, ice and penguins galore, while the Bay of Rays recreates the iconic Port Phillip Bay which is filled with Fiddler rays and sharks. There’s a heads-up crawl through which will allow your child to get a 360 degree view of the underwater world.

There’s also the Mermaid Garden, which takes visitors under a 2.2 million litre aquarium filled with multi-coloured fish, rays and sharks. Your children will enjoy the Interactive Wonder Wall, which invites children to sway like sea grasses and watch in wonder as the world around them starts to sway too. Finally, go to watch ICE AGE: No Time For Nuts 4-D, a short film about the adventures of Scrat as he looks for a missing nut.

A Focus On Conservation

While your child is enjoying the exciting activities at the Melbourne aquarium, you can also talk to them about the initiatives that the aquarium has undertaken to protect marine life. These include breeding programs to conserve vulnerable species as well as understand them better, rescuing sick and injured creatures and campaigning to raise awareness.

Through the day, at each of the exhibits there are talks and feedings at scheduled times. These are great to take your children to, as they will be conducted by experts who will talk about the specific animals and ways in which we can help protect them.

A visit to the Melbourne aquarium will be the perfect way to start a discussion about our relationship with marine animals and why it’s important to help them. What better way to spend World Wildlife Day?

Find out more about the aquarium here.

Have a trip to our Kindergarten in Rowville and Kindergarten in Doncaster.