國立海洋生物博物館 

科學教育組與產學合作中心研究員兼產學中心主任

樊同雲

林燕靖 Kim Lin

The scope of coral reef ambassador 2016 focused on the ocean of life. The world is all connected with the ocean; through its power, not only does it provide insight into the meanings of life, it also helps build up our learning and observations to benefit the environment globally. Coral reef ambassador is an international marine Biology science and cultural exchange program created to inspire a more peaceful world. This unique program brings together high school students of diverse backgrounds, including International Bilingual School at Hsinchu-Science-Park, National Chaochou Senior High School, Pingtung county Hengchun junior high school, Roosevelt High School and Stevenson Middle School to foster cross-cultural relationships, explore marine science, and develop a stewardship ethic for the ocean. Ocean for Life brings together students of diverse backgrounds and cultures to discover marine science, conservation, and how the ocean connects us all. Most of this entire program provides the optimal setting for this unique opportunity to enhance cross-cultural relationships, while creating a stewardship ethic for the ocean and the universal human experience.

The action plan is designed around three main themes: a sense of place, interconnectedness and ocean conservation and stewardship. These themes are highlighted through activities focusing on ocean science and exploration, cultural exchanges, and youth media projects. Through the interaction with other students we seek to establish cultural connections that ultimately lead to better understanding and the strengthening of our global relationships.

This year we were hosted by Dr. Tung-Yung Fan, 2015-2016 Fulbright Senior Scholar, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA. Without his vigorous work and lots of people support, it was indeed mission impossible to us. Understanding the connections between Earth's physical and human systems is fundamental to comprehending one's own place in the world. 2016 Coral reef ambassadors learned about the interconnectedness of the world's ocean and took to heart that their local actions impact the ocean, no matter where they live. The cross-school exchange, science experiment, snorkeling and scuba diving in living coral reef, tour in fossil coral reef, Polynesian Cultural Center, Battleship Missouri Memorial, Pearl Harbor as well as interns in public aquarium were conducted. Students also learned about the interconnectedness of people around the globe.

Raising awareness of the importance of resources in the ocean, the current issues facing those resources, the research being done to address those issues, and the role of marine conservation law in protecting those resources are all part of the ocean conservation and stewardship theme, introduced through the interview with the Deborah Ward, a communications specialist in Hawaii Dept. of Land and Natural Resources dedicated to managing state parks and other natural resources of Hawaii.

Coral reef ambassadors annually visited San Diego, California or Honolulu, Hawaii for academic and cultural exchange during 2013-2016. This project successfully continues attracting motivated teachers and students engaged in learning ocean protection, coral reef conservation, as well as foreign culture and education through local, domestic and international collaboration.

We all discovered how one ocean connects us all and how, by connecting to the ocean, we enrich our lives together.

Great thanks to everyone’s contribution

IBSH(International Bilingual School)

Christine Huang (Principal)

Min Yeh( Dean)

Vicky Lin (International Education Coordinator)

Yenching Lin (Biology Teacher)

Winnie Yi-wen Sheu

Alan Senyuan Lee

MonSol Kim

Shiqi Zhang

Justin Bo-Jiun Chen

Cheng-Te Chang

Chi Shun Sung

NCSH(National Chaochou Senior High School)

Max Liu Lee

Sheng-Hui Yang

Jiaying Lee

Mengchi Chiu

Hunglan Hsiao

Taiwanese Center in Hawaii

Flora Lu

Yen Wang

NMMBA(National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium)

Tony Feng (Section Director)

Shirley Lee

William Feng

Marian Lee

Pingtung County Hengchun junior high school

Yuhsuan Wang

One of the most memorable and fulfilling event that the Coral Reef Ambassadors experienced was the interview with the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). We started to prepare for the interview weeks before the trip, by contacting the department and securing a finalized time, constructing and editing questions we had for them, and dividing our team to accomplish our tasks as efficiently as possible. I was in charge of writing the questions while others were in charge of compiling the information, contacting, and researching. Another step we took in the preparation stage was to present our questions to Mr. Lei. He suggested a few ideas that we have not thought about before, like how we had to decide whether we wanted the interview to be a one side question and answer or a discussion. He also mentioned that our questions were a little too generic and did not stimulate a lot of other ideas. By using his suggestion, we gained a new mindset to approach the interview.

However, another major turning point came unexpectedly. At our interview at the Hawaiian Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), we executed various experiments. One of them was the observation of protists underneath microscopes. The second was to isolate the different organisms living in the Gorilla Ogo. After the experiments we were entertained with a walking tour led by Ariana all over Coconut Island and we also were introduced to the experiments that were ongoing. One of the most interesting experiment they were conducting was the research on super corals and the effects of pollution. They put cuttings of the same coral into big tanks and changed the independent variables in order to test how the corals will react differently to these different environments. Ariana explained the experiment in such detail that we were able to think in the point of view of a fellow scientist and understand the restrictions and liberations of the experiment. After the tour, we asked her questions about Hawaii and its conservation methods, which she knew a lot about. She also provided a lot of advice for us for our interview, stating how the questions we were asking her were the questions we should try to ask DLNR.

With that in mind, we decided to edit all of our questions that night. We stayed up late in order to make sure the questions were straightforward yet intricate so that the staff of DLNR will be able to answer the questions knowing the question very well and also be able to add his own point of view of information. Even though the staff happened to answer our following questions by also incorporating ideas on our next question, the interviewers derrick and I learned to adapt and change the order of our questions as time passed. Angela took excellent notes while Vickey tirelessly helped us record the whole exchange. Overall, the interview allowed us to develop our ability to adapt fast and also how to participate in formal interviews.

enous Taiwanese snacks. Namely, pineapple cakes, science noodles, milk candies, etc. To our surprise, they loved most of them and liked the Science Noodle in particular. They also had the honor to do Chinese calligraphy and make paper lanterns. To them, these were things they have never seen in their lives. One young girl in Stevenson Middle School told us that she would keep the little lantern she crafted for the rest of her life. That meant a lot to us because we knew that we were doing something special. With years of diabolo (Chinese yo-yos) training, Alan Lee did a little diabolo showcase for the students. He knocked people’s socks off and had them staring in disbelief. After the little performance, it was their turn to play. We offered them diabolo and Chinese tops. Some people got good fast, and others took some time to ease into it. I even spent 10 minutes teaching a student how to play the diabolo and to this day, I still feel good about it.

Altogether, we had a great time and learned more than we have imagiCultural Exchange Program - Our collaboration with the local Hawaiian schools, Stevenson Middle School and Roosevelt High, was the essence of the whole trip. We learned so much in the visit and to this day, I can still recall the smallest details. Not only did we introduce the Taiwanese culture to the students but also advocated the urgency of marine life protection. By comparing the differences the two countries have on marine life protection policies, we proved how far behind Taiwan is compared to Hawaii We wanted to find out how the Hawaiian government maintains the beaches clean despite the number of tourists that flock into the island each year.

Our first school visit was on the 5th day of the trip, so we had plenty of time to prepare. The night prior to the visit, we ran through our presentations and made revisions.

Although we all looked confident on the outside, we were nervous deep down. Since we were young and inexperienced, we did not know the proper way to approach an American audience. The moment we arrived at the school, we immediately felt inferior.

It went a lot better than we had expected as I regained my footing early on. Content is one thing, but delivery is another. Speaking in a humorous and exciting manner, we had the students transfixed. Even the more disobedient students, the ones that never paid attention to class, listened attentively to our presentation and participated in the activities.

We introduced the Chinese culture to them, and they were all amazed. The presentation was so convincing that someone even told us they wanted to travel to Taiwan in the future! The presentation was an hour long and it was split into two halves: powerpoint and activity. For the activities, they got a chance to taste indigned. The cultural exchange program exposed us to the American culture by giving us an opportunity to interact with American students. This trip meant so much to us and will always have a place in our hearts.