The Millennium Institute of Oceanography (IMO) has taken an active part in the creation of a children’s TV series entitled “Ruka’s Great Voyages”, which will be broadcast during the children’s time slot of Televisión Nacional de Chile(TVN), starting on Saturday April 7, 2018.
This animated series, which focuses on the fun adventures of Ruka and his friends, is set, for the most part, in the Pacific Ocean and seeks to teach little children from 3 to 7 years of age about the importance of respecting and taking care of our ecosystems and natural environments, giving prominence to Chilean waters. In this connection, Julian Rosenblatt, director of the series, explained: “Through this project, we are trying to promote a culture that will preserve the riches of our ocean from a young age and will take care of our planet in the future.”
The first season of this fun, dynamic children’s TV series comprises 13 episodes telling the stories of characters such as Ruka, a boy who, attracted by the underwater world and resolved to discover its secrets and mysteries, makes a voyage into the bottom of the sea along with his friend the turtle Nuna, finding many different species such as krill, penguins, sea lions, Chilean dolphins, crabs, sharks, cuttlefish, whales, urchins, salmons, jellyfish, manatees and rock basses, with whom they eventually become dear, respectful friends.
These great adventures will not only help children understand the marine ecosystem in a better way, but will also teach them about problems related to ocean pollution and climate change, thus seeking to build, encourage and develop environmental awareness among little children.
Bárbara Léniz, marine biologist and IMO’s Outreach deputy director, provided scientific advise for the series’ new season, sharing information about her field. She expressed her satisfaction for having taken part in this experience and also talked about the details of her work, which consisted in “researching on all the species mentioned in the series in order to establish their role in marine ecosystems along with the most interesting facts about them and their relationship with humans.”According to Léniz, this project, which is expected to make powerful impact on children, represents “a very valuable initiative bringing our great ocean, a foreign world, closer to children through a very attractive platform such as television, which will make it possible to teach them about taking care of the sea and protecting its species.”
In conclusion, “Ruka’s Great Voyages” is expected to become a useful tool that will help to amuse children as well as to make them aware and teach them about the importance of knowing and taking of this valuable ecosystem, which is relevant for all people in general, but especially for Chileans, since that country has a coastline of more than 4,000 kilometers.
Produced by GVC and supported by the National Television Council, the Millennium Institute of Oceanography, Fundación Ciencia y Vida, Señal Colombia and Televisión Nacional de Chile, this series aiming at delighting children will be broadcast every Saturday at 9 am, starting on April 7.
