Whale Watching as a Creative Arts Project
Field Trip with Project Suggestions for a Coastline Environment
On the Gold Coast of Queensland there is a tour operated from Sea World Resort during the whale watching season. It is never possible to predict what types of sea life will be sighted, but it is possible to be sure that there will be plenty of breath taking beauty to inspire students and budding visual artists.
It is hoped that humpback whales will be the stars of the show, especially when in the calving season, when hundreds of these magnificent mammals frequent the Gold Coast from late May until November.
This is their seasonal migration to the warm waters of tropical North Queensland to give birth before returning to the Antarctic.
A typical Sea World Whale Watch may encounter humpback whales, pods of bottlenose and common dolphins. When looking sky ward and on to the beaches, students will see birds such Pelicans, feeding Gannets or estuarine birds of prey such as Brahminy Kites and Ospreys.
Environmental Art
Sea World Whale Watch has introduced a new level of education and entertainment to the awe-inspiring natural experience of entering into this amazing ecospace. Students can come close enough to see and experience the presence of one of the world’s largest mammals without stressing the environment or harming the animals that co-habitate there.
Sea World Whale Watch’s vessel is custom designed for environmentally friendly whale watching. Three levels of open viewing platforms, ample deck space and restricted passenger numbers means there is plenty of room to move about. The tour remains a personal one and students have enough space to be able to record their impressions and to take in the experience without looking over someone’s shoulder to see a whale.
An Educational Experience
The educational tours are enhanced by interactive education technology means each student’s experience with the whales will be unique. Experts guide the marine tour, controlling an amazing array of 3D animation presentations. The world of the whales will be revealed clearly for students, as operators use advanced whale location technology.
A Multi-Strand Educational Sea Tour
Art teachers could combine with other subject teachers to create a multi strand approach to the project field trip. Teachers of subjects such as science, environmental education, and English are likely to happily collaborate on a project where the artists would illustrate and reflect upon an encounter with the beauty of the environment while they teach to the issues of environmentalism and the scientific facts of the matter.
Arts Projects about the Coastline Environment
Arts students could make documentary films or create a photographic essay of the experience. They could take a series of shots and choose one or two images to recreate on canvas. Encourage them to capture fleeting impressions in their visual journals. Press them to record their feelings as they ride on the seas through the wind and spray. This material may later become the stimulus for poetry, or it may become the essence of a song or musical piece.
Science teachers may ask students to investigate a problem, or they might combine with English teachers to inspire the students to write a story with an environmental theme. Whatever the productive outcome, there is potential here for classes to stage an exhibition, present a report to assembly or to have a viewing of their documentary response to the occasion.
Artistic field trips are well worthwhile for students. This is especially true when they are designed to be multi-modal and cross-disciplinary. Resorts such as Sea World are environmentally conscious and because of this, they seek to educate and to provide valuable educational resources to students and teachers.
Humback Whale
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