Learning the Sea of the Azores - Educational Program

Learning the Sea of Azores (AMAr) (AMAR = to love/ MAR = sea) is an educational

program developed by the Sea Observatory of the Azores (OMA), completely

integrated in Azores Region school curricula, which includes activities and

educational resources aimed at all levels of education and adapted to each one of

them.

With this programme, OMA intends to provide students at different levels of

education with knowledge about the Azorean sea and the possibility of working with

different materials, stimulating motor and cognitive skills, taking into account the programs of each academic year and the different subjects taught, from the

sciences to the visual arts, passing through mathematics, history and Portuguese.

Its construction takes into account the UNESCO Principles of Ocean Literacy and the

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). AMAr has a multidisciplinary approach to

teaching and learning about the Ocean, treating both the scientific and the cultural

and historical perspectives, addressing six different themes, with an activity for each

age group. The activities are adapted to the Curriculum Programs and Objectives

based on the documents, from the General Directorate of Education, referring to the

different levels of education and aim to promote a social model in harmony with

Nature and its resources. Activities are currently carried out in person, but upon

request and in order to overcome geographic barriers, they can be carried out

remotely. Resources are also available for the development of autonomous work,

developed in response to the confinement caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic, when

the heading #EuMergulhoEmCasa/#IDiveAtHome/#JePlongeChezMoi/#YoBuceoEnCasa

appeared, where activities were adapted to the home context and translated into

three more languages.

To preserve it is necessary to know and this program is an indispensable tool for the

formation of informed and active citizens in the defense and preservation of the

marine ecosystems of the Azores!