Wednesday, June 8 at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco
A focus on youth for this 2011 World Ocean Day, a focus on our future and that of the oceans of the Planet! An attractive program for the general public, families, as well as schools.
The adventure of oceanographic research will be shared by all through the TARA Oceans initiative, which shows us how important it is to better understand our Blue Planet in order to prepare for the future. The desire to learn and to know also comes through dreaming, and storyteller Alain Plas will offer another way to discover during this exciting day with his journey across the Mediterranean, following the footsteps of Chouchou the little pebble.
A program that shows us that the line between dream, adventure, exploration, research, and knowledge is sometimes very thin… As we approach the Earth Summit Rio+20 in June 2012, this is certainly a great opportunity to give a voice to the younger generations and to commit to the protection and sustainable management of the oceans!
9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Morning with school groups, Screening open to the public
TARA Oceans
A unique expedition
TARA Oceans is an ambitious multidisciplinary research project that will assess the impact of climate change and human activities on the marine ecosystem through the study of specific microorganisms, from viruses to fish larvae, including coral reef ecosystems. Simultaneously, the goal is to convey to society the message that our future is closely linked to the fate of microscopic oceanic life. The expedition ship, the Tara, set sail on September 5, 2009, from Lorient and will return in September 2012, after traversing nearly 150,000 km across the seas of 50 countries. In total, around a hundred scientists from prestigious laboratories with complementary specialties ranging from physical and chemical oceanography to plankton biology, genomics, microbiology, modeling, ecology, and bioinformatics, are or will be involved in this expedition to advance knowledge of marine biodiversity. From tropical coral atolls to Antarctica, Middle Eastern isthmuses to the Northwest Passage, such a global study of the marine environment with today’s technologies has never been done before. On the occasion of the 2011 World Ocean Day, the Oceanographic Museum partners with TARA Oceans to present the first films of the expedition, offering the opportunity to connect directly with the crew and researchers on board.
9:30 a.m.: Presentation by Didier Zoccola and Stéphanie Raynaud
Research Officers at the Scientific Center of Monaco
Stéphanie and Didier are two young researchers who were part of the Tara adventure and will share their experience with us; the daily life on board, the why and how of the samples and research conducted, on the ship and then in the lab, the initial results obtained and their significance. They will help us understand how crucial the study of the oceans is today for the future and how our knowledge is still just a drop in the ocean, with so much left to discover, making exploration a truly extraordinary adventure. Let’s give the floor to young voices and budding oceanographers to delve even deeper into the understanding!
10 a.m.: Live connection with the crew: A live phone connection with the team currently on a mission aboard the Tara. Dialogue with the sailor or duty scientist; 1 a.m., in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!
10:15 a.m.: Screening – Tara in the Mediterranean “The Secret World” (duration: 52’)
Viewed from the sky, the Earth is blue. But in reality, what do we know about the planet’s oceans? Who inhabits the oceans? It is to attempt to answer these questions that a team of scientists boards the schooner Tara. Their voyage is like an investigation into a secret world… a world called plankton, almost unknown and which represents millions of different organisms. The only certainty: these oceanic species play a significant role in the life of the planet… from Barcelona to Beirut, passing through Libya and Malta, Tara and its researchers conduct a systematic survey of Ulysses’ sea. In these churned waters, life teems with algae, crustaceans, jellyfish, bacteria, and viruses. The incredible bestiary of the secret world of the oceans.
2 p.m. – 5 p.m. – Afternoon
Journey in the Mediterranean at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Alain PLAS tells the story of Chouchou the little pebble and his journey in the Mediterranean, within the Pelagos sanctuary. He uses a slideshow, sound atmosphere, but above all, words, and speech that carry you away…(in the educational room, level -1)
From the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco to the marble mountains of Carrara, passing through the golden islands, Corsica, and the island of Elba, join Chouchou the little pebble, Jade, Vieille Branche, and their friends for an enchanting journey in the Mediterranean… After their adventures along the rivers of the Alps, you will discover, in the company of dolphins, whales, and sperm whales, many other unforgettable characters of the Marine Sanctuary! A silent world filled with mysteries and beauties, of stones laden with memory and history, you will immerse yourself in this fragile and wonderful universe to be preserved…
3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Guided tour of the exhibition “Mediterranean: Splendid, Fragile, Alive.”
(Meet at the entrance of the temporary exhibition hall, level 0)
In the company of a guide from the Museum, enjoy an exclusive tour of this exhibition! A thousand anecdotes will introduce you to the beauty and diversity of Mediterranean species and grasp their true scale, importance, or fragility. To understand the biodiversity of this sea in the middle of the lands and get involved in its protection, this exhibition also alerts you to the assaults the Mediterranean currently suffers due to, primarily, the impact of human activities. Phenomena of which we are both witnesses and actors, direct or indirect: seawater acidification, jellyfish proliferation, overfishing of bluefin tuna, immigrant species. These phenomena challenge us on our relationship with this natural environment and will undoubtedly lead you to commit to a more sustainable future at the end of this most exciting journey. A guided tour that serves as a reflection on our actions, introduced or extended by the work of Huang Yong Ping, Wu Zei, a hybrid animal between octopus and squid, an homage to the Mediterranean, inviting us, through the artist’s approach, to take a different look at all these issues.
