My Blue Home

<< Background >>This project addresses one of the most urgent global challenges—climate change and its impact on marine environments including LIFE BELOW WATER (UN’s SD Goal SDG14). Human activities over the past 200 years have caused significant ocean warming, acidification, oxygen loss, and pollution, threatening marine biodiversity and human well-being. The project aligns with our commitment to promote Ocean Literacy, which is essential for fostering understanding of the ocean's vital role and how our actions influence it.This project fills a critical need by introducing comprehensive Ocean Literacy into school curricula. While ocean topics are present in subjects like geography and science, they are often fragmented. This project equips students with the knowledge and tools to understand ocean systems, environmental challenges, and the importance of sustainable practices.By focusing on children’s education, we can inspire future generations to take meaningful action for ocean conservation and sustainability. Through international collaboration, this project also facilitates knowledge sharing and foster solutions that address the global nature of these issues.<< Objectives >>The main goal of this project was to fill the gaps in Ocean Literacy education for children aged 6-10 and to promote sustainability practices through playful learning. By using interactive methods, we aim for children to easily absorb knowledge in formal, non-formal, and informal environments. In addition to raising awareness, we wanted to enhance critical and analytical thinking skills, as well as social and communication skills, through group interaction and play.The project also aimed to familiarize teachers, parents, and students with playful and online educational tools. The Digital Adventure Game engages children in learning about Ocean Literacy and sustainability, motivating them to change their habits and become more aware of their impact on the marine environment. Ideally, they share this knowledge with friends, family, and the broader community.The Ocean Museum deepens Ocean Literacy, raises awareness of sustainability issues, promotes teamwork, creativity, and social responsibility, and empowers children to act as advocates for a sustainable future.<< Implementation >>We focused on two key deliverables: the MBH Digital Adventure Game (R1) and the Ocean Museum (R2). Each of these results was developed through a series of well-defined activities aimed at creating an engaging and educational experience for children while promoting Ocean Literacy and sustainability practices.MBH Digital Adventure Game (R1)Game Concept: The first step was to collaboratively define the overall concept of the Digital Adventure Game. This involved input from all project partners to develop a general idea, including the creation of a storyboard, the objectives of the game, and how learning content related to ocean sustainability could be embedded within the game’s structure. The game was designed to engage children by incorporating fun, interactive elements that align with the educational goals.Learning Objectives: We set specific learning objectives inspired by existing frameworks on Ocean Literacy and sustainability. These objectives not only informed the design of the game but also guided the development of the Ocean Museum. They were carefully crafted to ensure that children could develop a deeper understanding of the ocean’s role in the environment and how human actions impact marine ecosystems.Game Specification: We selected the digital content that would be included in the game, ensuring that it aligned with the defined learning objectives. This phase involved designing the layout, defining the game mechanics, and establishing story guidelines to create an engaging narrative that would both educate and entertain the players.Game Development and Design: During this phase, the game concept was brought to life. We developed the contents, coded the game, and created all necessary assets (visuals, sounds, and interactive elements). The main character is a child, that is assigned with a mission and must explore the scenarios in order to solve the situation.The game action has been divided into 4 missions (or game stages) for easier implementation in classrooms. Input from testing activities was used to refine the game continuously, ensuring it was both educational and enjoyable for children.Game Learning Contents: The educational content developed by participating schools was transformed into digital formats and integrated into the game. The goal was to create a seamless experience where learning materials fit naturally within the gameplay, creating a visually and audibly cohesive learning environment that keeps children engaged.Game Testing: Testing was a key activity to ensure that the game met its pedagogical goals. Children were involved in testing sessions, allowing us to observe how they responded to the game and whether the educational objectives were being met. Feedback from these tests was used to further refine the game and ensure a high level of quality and engagement.Final Product: After refining the game based on feedback, we produced the final version of the Digital Adventure Game. A promotional video was also created to raise awareness of the game and highlight its educational benefits.Ocean Museum (R2)Guidelines Development: For the Ocean Museum, we started by developing guidelines for the creation and curation of its contents. These guidelines included criteria for selecting topics, concepts, and objectives, as well as suggested methodologies and tools for presenting the content. The guidelines ensured that the museum's content would be educational, engaging, and aligned with the overall project goals.Content Creation: Selected work groups, including teachers and students, explored various techniques and media to create the content for the Ocean Museum. This phase emphasized creativity and innovation, encouraging students to express their understanding of ocean and sustainability concepts through art, media, and other forms of presentation. Also, through the introduction of a series of experimental activities the students were offered hands-on learning experiences that bring ocean science concepts to life.Exhibitions: Once the content was created, it was presented in exhibitions. Children had the opportunity to display their work to their local communities, which not only reinforced their learning but also empowered them by giving them a platform to showcase their knowledge and creativity. An online virtual exhibition was also made available on the MBH website, to reach a broader audience.Final Guidelines and Showcases: A final set of guidelines was developed to ensure that the Ocean Museum could be replicated by other schools. This self-contained package includes the necessary documentation and showcases of the museum’s work (including a set of 'Activity Cards'), allowing the project to extend its impact beyond its original scope and continue to promote Ocean Literacy and sustainability education in other communities.<< Results >>OCEAN LITERACY & SUSTAINABILITY LEARNING FRAMEWORKThis Framework is the first key deliverable of the MyBlueHome (MBH) Project and provides the basis for the development of the Digital Game and the Ocean Museum, by defining the learning objectives of the two Project Results (R1 & R2). The Learning Framework includes: • Learning objectives as introduced by the primary education curricula in the 4 countries of the partnership • Structuring of the Learning Objectives to transform them into specific environmental topics/issues around which the Game Structure and Story can be formulated • Students’ acquired competencesMBH DIGITAL GAMEThe digital game (R1) is an educational game of the point-and-click adventure genre, coupled with educational content on ocean/sustainability topics to respond to the learning framework created for primary school education. The game idea is to present the player with a selected number of scenarios addressing the main critical aspects that the ocean has on our lives – from the economic and social aspects to the critical role in supporting life on earth.Each scenario stresses the importance of the ocean, the problems affecting the ocean, causes for the problems affecting the ocean and sustainable practices that can reduce those problems. These are organized in three thematic areas: • Ocean's importance for recreation and transport. • Ocean's importance as a source of food and other resources. • Ocean's importance to climate regulation, oxygen production and house for biodiversity. The MBH game was made freely available online and translated into five languages (English, Greek, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian, along with Youtube videos demonstrating each “mission” of the game), ensuring broader dissemination and impact. MBH OCEAN MUSEUM GUIDEThis document is a comprehensive roadmap for creating an Ocean Museum (R2) as a tool to promote ocean literacy in the primary school environment and is organized in five parts: 1. An introductory text that provides educators with the context of Ocean Literacy and a comprehensive overview of ocean challenges (based on the UN SDG14 Goal), facilitating their communication to students by providing a description and theoretical background that can serve as a reference for further exploration and discussion in the classroom. 2. The pedagogical framework for setting up an ocean museum in the classroom/school is presented in terms of learning objectives, target group, learning process and competences acquired by the students. 3. Creation of an ocean museum guidelines provide a comprehensive roadmap from conceptualization through planning, implementation examples and finally evaluation of the learning process. This section introduces the ‘MBH-Activity Cards’ which are provided as a stand-alone section of this project result. 4. Ocean Museum Exhibitions from European schools providing examples of good practice for the creation of an Ocean Museum 5. Appendix with 14 examples of ‘Activity Cards’ as part of the implementation of an Ocean MuseumThe document is provided online in five languages (English, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian).MBH ACTIVITY CARDSThe MBH Activity Cards is part of the Ocean Museum Guide (R2), containing 14 activities which can be useful resources for teachers who wish to exercise with their students in Ocean Literacy and Sustainability. The 'Activity Cards' offer hands-on learning experiences that bring ocean science concepts to life. These cards serve as both activity guides for museum exhibits and tools for teaching ocean-related topics. Each card includes step-by-step instructions, enabling students to explore themes like marine food chains and oceanic processes. The activities are inclusive, adaptable for various ages and abilities, and result in tangible products that enhance the museum's collection. The cards aim to spark curiosity, foster creativity, and encourage further research into marine biology and conservation, making learning interactive and engaging.MBH OCEAN MUSEUM EXHIBITIONSOcean Museum exhibitions (R2) from three European schools (Greece: PSV, Italy: ICCGP, Romania: ISJA) are demonstrated on the project’s webpage. Moreover, a virtual museum is available on the webpage of the project, providing a virtual tour to important concepts about key aspects related to the ocean and life below water, as described in the learning framework.Additionally, the project achieved the following:Created a project website and a Facebook page.Conducted project presentations for the general public.Produced a game promotional video.Organized final multiplier events in all participating countries for the target groups.Established a Sustainability Strategy.Among the many accomplishments of MBH, the project:Highlighted the importance of Ocean Literacy and promoted Sustainability practices.Increased readiness and competence in digital learning and teaching.Expanded the number of schools teaching Ocean Literacy.Inspired children to pursue careers in related fields.Encouraged critical thinking, affirmative action, and group collaboration.Promoted innovative learning methods to teachers, trainers, and parents.Engaged parents in educational activities with their children.Enabled students to participate in real-world sustainability actions, with direct impact on environmental awareness through the Ocean Museum's exhibitions.Involved educators and students in a valuable transnational experience.Empowered children to gain competence, contribute, and feel empowered to make a difference in environmental issues.Provided tools and resources to partners to innovate their curricula and develop new knowledge and materials for future projects.