Over 300 school children travelled today (September 27) across thousands of kilometres of open ocean in the company of sea turtles – at least, so it felt to the students as they watched “Turtle Odyssey 3D”, the newest ‘edutainment’ film in the Atlantic Ultimate Field Trip, the educational initiative at the Digicel IMAX cinema sponsored by LNG producer Atlantic.
Filmed using IMAX’s immersive 3D technology, “Turtle Odyssey” explores the unique lifecycle of an Australian green sea turtle, tracing her growth from hatchling to adulthood, and detailing the adventures and challenges she encounters on her thousand-mile maritime journey.
The film’s premiere hosted close to 320 students from primary schools including Morvant Anglican, St. Catherine’s Girls’ A.C., Maraval R.C. and as far as La Brea R.C. School.
Camille Salandy, Atlantic’s Manager of Sustainability and Corporate Communications, explained that the film helped bring to vivid life the sea turtles species’ journey of survival.
“This movie takes one turtle’s life and turns it into an epic adventure, a heart-warming story of life and victory,” Salandy said. “Turtle conservation is a cause Atlantic supports deeply through our partnership with the Turtle Village Trust, and the Atlantic Ultimate Field Trip was especially designed to make topics like turtle conservation relatable to children. The Atlantic Ultimate Field Trip helps to enhance what children learn in school and also builds in them a greater appreciation for the wider world.”
The premiere also featured presentations by the Turtle Village Trust and the El Socorro Centre for Wildlife Conservation, who mounted an interactive display with select turtle species. Kathryn Audroing, Research Manager, Turtle Village Trust, explained to the students the importance of protecting the marine environment and encouraged them to help protect turtles by keeping turtle beaches free of litter especially plastics.
Since its inception in 2011, over 80,000 students from across Trinidad and Tobago have participated in the Atlantic Ultimate Field Trip, the educational initiative at the Digicel IMAX Cinema sponsored by LNG producer Atlantic. The programme targets students through visually captivating educational films that use IMAX 3D technology and focus on a variety of topics including dinosaurs, orphan animal rehabilitation, deep sea marine life and the wonders of outer space. Other films currently shown on the programme include Conquest of the Skies, Secret Oceans, Flight of the Butterflies and Hurricane, launched earlier this year.