ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION WITH PANDA MOBILE IN "U-CARE 2017" MULTIMEDIA NUSANTARA UNIVERSITY
By: Pratama Aditya Haryanto (Panda Mobile Coordinator)
WWWF-Indonesia's Panda Mobile visited Universitas Multimedia Nusantara (UMN) on Saturday (30/09). Having previously participated in a workshop titled "Trashformation", this time Panda Mobile was present to provide environmental education to elementary school students around the UMN campus in an event titled "U-Care 2017". This social activity is a routine event organized by UMN. This year is the first time WWF-Indonesia's Panda Mobile is involved in "U-Care".
Taking place at the Multimedia Nusantara University Campus Building, Gading Serpong, Tangerang, the activity was attended by around 280 elementary school students. There were four sessions that had to be followed by the participants. Each session was attended by 70 students with a duration of one hour.
The activities held by Panda Mobile are very diverse, ranging from watching movies on the Panda Mobile truck, water observation using Panda Mobile's water laboratory facilities, to playing "Explore Papua". Students took turns getting the opportunity to learn things they had never seen before. At the water laboratory post, the students paid close attention to how to test the quality of the water around them guided by Panda Mobile volunteers Arvella and Melissa. A look of surprise and curiosity was evident when Arvella turned on the microscope and observed the bacteria in a speck of water from the rain.
"Well, there are many bacteria. If you drink from water that has a lot of bacteria, would you want to not?" Melissa asked the students. Suddenly they shook their heads. Apart from using a microscope, the Panda Mobile volunteers also tested the water using a pH meter. Previously, the volunteers explained the three properties of water, namely alkaline, acidic, and neutral in each measuring cup containing the three liquids. They invited one of the students to demonstrate how to use the pH meter. Rasya, one of the elementary school students who got the chance to try using the pH meter, had a happy and nervous look on his face.
Rasya was also asked to dip litmus paper which will change color when exposed to acidic or alkaline liquids. "One, two, three... the color turns pink, sis!" Rasya exclaimed to the volunteers. His curious friends also tried to use the equipment in the water laboratory post. They were very happy with this activity because they had never tried it before. At the end of the water lab activity, the volunteers advised the students to take care of the environment and the availability of clean water.
For about four hours, the activity posts at Panda Mobile were never empty of participants. The movie and game posts were always enthusiastically followed. They came one after another to get exciting activities as well as new knowledge. After all the participants participated in the activities, they returned to the main hall for lunch. The event was closed by giving a plaque from the committee to WWF-Indonesia's Panda Mobile representative.