Maldives Science Society » schools

The Maldives Science Society holds a marine biology presentation

Science Maldives — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:23:51 +0000

Anne-Marie Kitchen-Wheeler, Research Scientist

The Maldives Science Society, in association with Aqua Dreams Imaging group, has held a marine biology presentation at Hiriha School. The presentation was held at 8 pm on 14 March 2010 and was attended by students from Hiriya School as well as members from some local NGO’s.

The presentation was given by the UK research scientist Anne Marie Kitchen Wheeler and was largely a slide show on manta rays interspersed with video clips and explanatory commentaries. The presentation touched upon the anatomy, habitat, place in the ecosystem and behavioral aspects of mantas as well as some of the ways in which mantas are threatened and how they can be protected. One important highlight of the presentation was the explanation on how mantas evolved from sharks millions of years ago. She also said that it is highly likely that the Maldives has the largest manta ray population in the world.

Hiryaa School Students

At the end of the presentation Anne Marie took questions from the audience.

Maldives Science Society holds a stargazing session at Thaajudhdheen School

Science Maldives — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:40:24 +0000

The Maldives Science Society has held a stargazing event for the students of Thaajudhdheen School’s science club. The event was held at Thaajudhdheen premises at 7 pm on 28 February 2010 and was attended by some 150 students. The event was held as a response to an eager request from Thaajudhdheen School and was organized jointly by the Maldives Science Society and Thaajudhdheen School. The event revolved around a powerful telescope which gave the students a chance to see up close the Moon and some planets of the Solar System. During a Q&A session, a British mathematician and scientist, Thomas Goodey, also answered questions raised by the students.

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Maldives Science Society hosts ‘STARGAZE with Astronomers Without Borders’

Science Maldives — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:33:32 +0000

Thomas Goodey, Mathematician and scientist.

The Maldives Science Society has held a stargazing event especially aimed at school students titled ‘STARGAZE with Astronomers Without Borders’. The event which was held on 18 February 2010 at Lale International School in Hulhumale’ was attended by a significant number of students from 11 schools. The event was held in affiliation with Astronomers Without Borders and was co-hosted by Lale International School.

Thomas Goodey handing over a Galileoscope to a school student.

The event was marked by the Maldives Science Society’s donation of 11 Galileoscopes to 11 schools. The donations were handed out by the British mathematician and scientist Thomas Goodey who had been staying in the Maldives since a few days before the 2010 annular solar eclipse _ he was a key figure in the pendulum experiments conducted in the Maldives in connection with the eclipse. In the event Thomas Goodey also briefed the students on aspects of astronomy _ its origins and evolution _ and the use of telescopes. He also commented on our propitious location straddling the equator and how this contributes towards stargazing and other projects relating to astronomy. The Maldives Science Society’s screening of the science documentary ‘Eyes on the Sky‘ and the Maldives Open Source Society’s demonstration of the astronomy software ‘Stellarium‘ were also key highlights of the event.

The stargazing session which was cancelled due to unfavorable weather conditions and which was originally planned to be a part of the event is now scheduled to take place in the new future. The Maldives Science Society says this will give students a chance to see celestial objects and phenomena up close.