Pacific Whale Foundation Presents Educational Ocean Camp, Oct. 5-9

PC: Pacific Whale Foundation

Pacific Whale Foundation presents an educational ocean camp from Oct. 5-9 for Maui students in the first through fifth-grade. The education program is called “Ocean Camp: From Screen to Sea” and features virtual and in-person ocean engagement.

“Given the unprecedented situation we find ourselves in and the importance of maintaining strong connections to the environment, we are excited to offer this unique mix of educational content to our keiki,” said PWF Education Manager Robyn Ehrlich.

This hybrid approach encourages children to learn about marine environments and wildlife while remaining safe at home via a thoughtfully curated virtual program presented by PWF Education Specialists. In addition, registered students will board a PacWhale Eco-Adventures boat for a three-hour ocean experience guided by Certified Marine Naturalists. To ensure the health and safety of everyone on board, the vessel has been modified to accommodate proper social distancing of passengers, and all staff are trained to follow COVID-19 protocols.

Centered around the theme, “When You Wish Upon a Sea Star,” the week-long session includes daily live-streaming science lessons, team-building games and other activities, expressive crafts and nature-based inquiry.

The virtual portion features an hour and a half to two hours of daily face-to-face interaction with PWF’s professional educators and fellow campers via a password-protected online visual communication platform that encourages group participation. In addition, campers are given optional daily activities to engage in away from the computer, which they can share with the group the following day.

The upcoming Ocean Camp session runs from 9 a.m. to approximately 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 5, through Thursday, Oct. 8, with the in-person ecotour leaving Māʻalaea Harbor at 8:30 a.m. (check-in time is 7:45 a.m. at PWF’s Māʻalaea Ocean Store) on Friday, Oct. 9 (subject to change depending on marine conditions). As the maximum number of attendees per session is 15, early registration is strongly suggested.

The cost to register is $100 per camper ($80 for PWF Members) and includes the ocean ecotour chartered from the nonprofit’s social enterprise, PacWhale Eco-Adventures. Through the generosity of PWF members and donors who subsidized much of the overall cost, campers may invite one adult on the boat trip free of charge and one adult at a discounted rate of $20 or $16 for PWF Members. In this way, PWF hopes to make this distinctive hybrid educational adventure available to the extended Maui ʻohana.