Visiting the OceanXplorer ship was one of the best teacher experiences I've ever had. It is still clear in my mind how the cool ship docked at the Nusantara passenger pier, Tanjung Priok Port - Jakarta. Wednesday, July 10, 2024, I along with a limited number of fellow educators received an invitation from WWF-Indonesia in collaboration with Yayasan Guru Belajar to visit one of the world-class ocean research vessels - OceanXplorer.

OceanXplorer itself is not new to me because as a social studies teacher, I have invited students in class to watch YouTube shows about seabed research conducted by OceanXplorer, so the invitation to be able to visit this ship will not be missed.

That afternoon, accompanied by Mrs. Anne, one of the ship's crew educators, we began our tour of the OceanXplorer. Never imagining a research vessel of such size and sophistication, we were in awe from the moment we stepped off the dock.

The ship's tour began with a visit to the top deck on the 4th floor where the ship is run, meeting the captain and being warmly welcomed. As befits a modern cruiser, the navigation system is very complete and convenient. We were informed that this ship is a "recycled" ship that was originally used for mining exploitation in the oceans but is now being used for scientific research exploration in the oceans.

After getting an explanation of how the vessel is operated, we were taken straight to the garage section of OceanXplorer's Triton 3300 submarine.

There, the submarine crew again explained how a manned submarine is operated. I began to fantasize about the day when Indonesia would have one of these submarines. Afterward, we were taken to the next room where the unmanned robotic submarine was kept. This robot submarine has unlimited range and is one of the best that OceanXplorer has.

We also had the opportunity to go into the control room and get information from the navigator. It was like stepping onto the set of a Hollywood movie. Afterward, we continued to explore other ship facilities such as the diving equipment room and several research laboratories on board, which consisted of wet and dry laboratories with their respective functions.

For ocean researchers, this ship is like a dream come true, all research facilities are very complete and modern including the lighting in the laboratory arranged by one of the Hollywood directors - James Cameron which facilitates research documentation.

OceanXplorer's exploration of the ship's contents ended with a visit to the media deck, where we were explained how the research process is edited, narrated, and published so that it can be enjoyed by the general public through OceanXplorer's social media.

It turns out that the surprise from OceanXplorer does not end here, we - the educators were given a prototype lesson booklet a kind of worksheet titled "Exploring the ocean" which can be used in the classroom as a learning medium and will be available in 2 languages - Indonesian and English.

As an educator, the OceanXplorer cruise was very meaningful and gave me insights that I wanted to share with my students at school. On the way home, an idea emerged to package social studies learning, which coincidentally this semester there is material on maritime and marine.

The OceanXplorer publication that already exists on social media will be combined with a souvenir prototype lesson booklet. Wow... I can already imagine the enthusiastic faces of students when learning in class later, can provide meaningful and sustainable learning from OceanXplorer.