Schools are the regular sites for children's education, and nowadays in Japan, all sorts of efforts are being made to foster children's academic ability and their "zest for life," through, for example, the introduction of a five-day school week, and the institution of a "comprehensive learning time." In local communities, adults' expectations of social educational facilities are continuing to grow. Nowadays people want social educational facilities not only to educate them but to enable them to use their leisure time to add meaning to their lives and to develop themselves spiritually and emotionally.
In order to meet this kind of requirement, Aquamarine Fukushima is now fully equipped not only with the usual functions of aquariums, but also a system to provide classes and instruction, with teachers dispatched specially by the prefectural board of education. We have a Web page and provide information online; we have a system of volunteers; we disseminate information to the local community; and we provide a venue for life-long learning to the local community. We aim to create a total system, one which will enable the Aquamarine to serve as a venue for environmental education as well as recreation, so that people can learn and actually experience things at the same time as they have fun.
To give concrete shape to its concept "The Oceans and What They Can Tell Us about Our Future," Aquamarine Fukushima has taken the conveyance of the importance of a favorable relationship between humankind and the ocean as the basic policy behind all its education and dissemination activities. We express this policy in the word "sustainability." We hope to consider how best to make sustainable use of marine resources with the help and advice of visitors, the local community, and interested parties.
