The "Biosphere Traveler's Nature and Museum Diary" project, which aims to raise awareness among participants about biodiversity, ecosystems and the learning opportunities offered by nature and is supported by the TÜBİTAK 4004- Nature Education and Science Schools Support Program, has been successfully completed. The project, which took place in three stages in June, July and September at the Biosphere Museum and Beytepe Campus, provided participants with the opportunity to use nature as a laboratory, understand the importance of the biosphere and develop sensitivity about protecting biodiversity.
The loss of biodiversity is the most important environmental issue in the century we live in and this problem directly affects human life. Museums are the bridges between the past and the future, and natural history museums take on the role of a kind of memory of the earth by protecting the geological/biological history of the geography where they are located. Perhaps the most effective effort to protect the rapidly disappearing living and non-living natural diversity is to inform people about the natural environment and to warn them about what we are losing. The Biosphere Traveler's Nature and Museum Diary project has contributed to increasing the awareness of high school students about biodiversity, ecosystems and the unique learning opportunities offered by nature.
Within the scope of this project, which was implemented with the cooperation of Hacettepe University, TÜBİTAK, Yahya Kemal Beyatlı and Mustafa Kemal Anatolian High Schools, a total of 56 activities were carried out with the participating students on topics such as open/closed-ended experiments, simulation, augmented reality applications, scientific trips/field studies, nature/wildlife observations, educational games, stem, sports/art, guess and explain with your eyes, and creative drama. In the project, students were provided with a deep connection with ecosystems in the activities held in the fossil fields of Beşkonak, Kızılcahamam- Çamlıdere Geopark and in the unique nature of Beytepe Campus, and also through the trainings organized in the Biosphere Museum, they were provided with detailed information about the formation processes of our planet, the functioning of ecosystems and sustainability principles, and they were encouraged to develop their expression skills with the practice of keeping a diary with the My Biosphere Journey Diary study.
14 academic staff with expertise in the fields of ecology, entomology, hydrobiology, botany, ethnobotany, pharmaceutical botany, remote sensing systems, genetics, geology and paleontology provided support for the project trainings. Detailed information about the project and activities can be accessed at https://biyosferyolcusu.hacettepe.edu.tr/.
The Biosphere Traveler's Nature and Museum Diary Project was completed with the closing event held in the Biosphere Museum on September 13. Project Manager Prof. Dr. Following Yasemin Saygı’s closing speech, an instrumental music recital consisting of Classical Turkish Music pieces was performed by the students of Mustafa Kemal Anatolian High School Music Ensemble. Finally, the opening of the Biosphere Museum Biological Diversity Exhibition was held at the closing ceremony. In the exhibition, some of the works made by the students of the two schools participating in the project during the activities titled “Scientific Plant Illustration, From Rock to Fossil: I Observe, I Recognize, I Draw Fossils, From Nature to Herbarium in the Biosphere Museum, I Collect Insects” were presented to the guests and visitors.
We would like to thank TÜBİTAK, our University Administration, participating school administrators, all participants, and the project and university staff who contributed to the realization of the project for their support, and wish that awareness of biodiversity and ecosystems will become increasingly widespread in society.