Posted on 26 June 2024.
The National Taiwan Museum (NTM) has created a diverse learning platform for environmental education based on the concept of innovative thinking and accessibility in museums. The remarkable result was honored with an “Excellence Award ” in the category of government agencies in the 9th National Environmental Education Awards.
The NTM has been systematically promoting environmental education since 2013, when it established a working group. Going by the core value of cultural diversity and biodiversity and implementing the idea of environmental education every day, the museum incorporates the element of environmental education into every exhibition and educational activity it organizes. Through the intimate network of partnership, the NTM can integrate regional and cross-regional resources, deepen international collaboration, and showcase its influence across the globe.
Over the past decade, the NTM has gradually expanded its attention from natural conservation issues to the preservation of cultural assets, with its educational activities featuring common conveyance of knowledge or focusing more on skill development and practical application. The NTM leverages digital technology, cultural and creative design, and social healthcare to provide the public with a comprehensive platform for environmental education.
To expand the influence of environmental education, the NTM introduces science to the public and encourages senior high school students and college students to carry out ecological surveys of urban green space. Their investigation records will be uploaded to an open database via the App iNaturalist. Moreover, the NTM has joined the Taiwan Biodiversity Information Alliance (TBIA), assisting in establishing a data sharing network and strengthening its own social accountability. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the NTM broke the confines of time and space and managed to promote environmental education through online resources, virtual exhibitions, and digital interactive learning tools.
In addition, the NTM has been digitizing paper documents and operating through cutting-edge equipment, power-saving measures, rainwater harvesting systems, and smart management platforms. To achieve sustainability and apply environmental education to daily life, the museum adopts the strategy “Reuse and Reduce” for exhibition design, keeps track of carbon emissions, and uses reversible design.
Currently, the NTM’s environmental education team is composed of trained staff for environmental education accreditation and researchers from all kinds of fields. The participation of volunteers, tour guides, international students, and new immigrants also breathes new life into the activity. As the first institution affiliated to the Ministry of Culture (MOC) to be granted environmental education accreditation, the National Taiwan Museum provides quality-learning resources in many fields such as climate change, natural conservation, and cultural preservation, and organizes all kinds of environmental education activities intended for both groups and individuals. Those who are interested can visit the official website for more information about environmental education.
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Translator: 陳琪徨/NTU-Graduate Program of Translation and Interpretation (NTU GPTI)
Editor: Phaedra Fang/ National Taiwan Museum