On the occasion of World Water Day, the International Environmental Educational, Advisory and Information Centre of Water Protection (IEEAIC) of the Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters at the University of South Bohemia prepared an educational program for children focused on the theme of transformations in the aquatic environment. The event attracted significant public interest, with approximately 360 visitors attending.
The program was designed as a series of five interactive stations where participants learned about various forms of development of aquatic organisms, as well as the broader context of the origin and evolution of life on Earth. Individual stations presented, for example, the development of amphibians from egg to adult, transformations of aquatic insects, and the life cycle of the European eel. Another part of the program was devoted to the evolution of life in aquatic environments, from the earliest organisms to present-day fish.
The program also included a creative workshop where children could make models of selected aquatic organisms, such as a caddisfly larva with its characteristic case, a dragonfly, or a frog. The program was further enriched by observing fish development under a microscope. Participants could view the developmental stages of killifish and zebrafish from eggs to adult individuals and also try preparing so-called “sweet caviar.”
The event offered children the opportunity to explore aquatic ecosystems through hands-on activities and helped them understand the importance of water for the origin and development of life on Earth.
