KAUST university academics and scientists regularly partner with TKS educators to co-develop curriculum content, which enables the school students to be immersed in the exciting research and scientific breakthroughs that KAUST is undertaking, as part of their school curriculum.
Professors and researchers from the Red Sea Research Center have been working with a team from the Elementary school, to develop a range of learning activities and opportunities about life under the water (including coral restoration research that is currently being undertaken at KAUST). The team kicked off the project by taking a boat trip to the Coral Probiotic Village, which has been developed by Professor Raquel Peixoto and the team at the RSRC, to better understand the Red Sea ecosystem and how this impacts the wellbeing of coral. You can see how their trip went here.
Following on from the initial trip, the group then met to start sketching out how the Grade 1-5s could be a part of the important research currently taking place. A dedicated interactive area has now been created in the Gardens Elementary School reception, which the Elementary students will regularly update to showcase their current partnership work with the Red Sea Research Center. Students will be learning about data gathering and analysis, research methods, and documentation, and will also be contributing to the wide body of knowledge about the Red Sea ecosystem! Researchers from the Red Sea Research Center recently visited the school to explain more about what the RSRC does, answer questions from the students, and introduce the current theme for the students – coral.
