Today is the first official World Oceans Day!
First proposed in 1992—and unofficially celebrated since—World Oceans Day was declared by the United Nations to be recognized on June 8th every year starting with 2009. Working together with The Ocean Project and World Ocean Network, people around the globe are taking time out today to recognize and reflect on the many ways the ocean contributes to life here on earth with a particular emphasis on preservation and conservation.
This year’s official motto is “Our Oceans, Our Responsibility” while the the unofficial motto is “one ocean, one climate, one future.”
You can read more about events in your area, as well as ideas of how to participate in World Oceans Day at The Ocean Project website.
In the mean time, here are some quick ways you might want to use to celebrate World Oceans Day with your kids, even if you don’t live near the sea:
- Visit Discovery Education’s Planet Ocean website. You’ll find fun facts and lessons about the ocean.
- Watch The Blue Planet: Seas of Life.
- Take a trip to your local aquarium.
- Find some old seashells from last year’s beach trip and talk to your kids about how long they take to form. Identify the ones that you took and explain what kind of animals once inhabited them.
- Read Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island or The Swiss Family Robinson. They’re free on Google Books, so you don’t even have to leave your house.
- For the younger crowd, watch Finding Nemo or The Little Mermaid, and have an age-appropriate conversation about what we can do now to help take responsibility for what goes in to our oceans.
