Learn About COVID-19 Impacts Now and in the Future with Aquarium’s Free Five-Session Live Webinar Course
The COVID-19 pandemic has many people thinking about the implications for our relationship with nature and wildlife, public health policy, economics, education, and the environment. The pandemic has impacted everyone and all industries and institutions. It has also highlighted inequities throughout society and will lead to lasting changes in the ways we work, how cities function, and other possible futures.
The Aquarium of the Pacific invites the public to join a free live virtual course with leading experts in the fields of public health, social science, business, and education to explore these and other aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic starting on November 10, 2020.
In a five-session online course called COVID-19 Exposed: The Lessons We Need to Learn, the Aquarium will host live talks with experts to examine the pandemic’s many facets and its wide-ranging impacts. Class sessions will cover an overview of the disease and pandemic, the public health response in the U.S. and around the world, and impacts of COVID-19 on the economy, education, environment, businesses, museums, zoos, and aquariums. It will also address the intersections of healthcare and social inequities and what our future might look like in 2021 and beyond.
Topics will be presented by different experts in live Zoom sessions, and participants will have the opportunity to ask questions.
On Tuesday, November 10, Aquarium President and CEO Dr. Peter Kareiva will present a session on the natural history of the coronavirus. On the next evening, November 11, John Keisler, director of economic development for the City of Long Beach, will discuss COVID-19 and impacts on the economy and business.
Celeste DeWald, executive director of the California Association of Museums, and Nicole Meek, director of operations at the Aquarium, will discuss impacts on museums, zoos, and aquariums during the session on Wednesday, November 18.
On Wednesday, December 2, Holly Buck, postdoctoral research fellow at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, will address the social science research surrounding COVID-19 and how people are dealing with the pandemic.
The final session on Wednesday, December 9, will feature speakers Kelly Colopy, director of the City of Long Beach Health and Human Services Department, Dr. Anissa Davis, health officer for the City of Long Beach, and Daniel Ives, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities. They will present their forecasts for 2021 and discuss public health and business under various scenarios for next year.
Aquatic Academy is part of the Aquarium’s Online Academy, which offers free educational resources for both children and adults ranging from live classes and webcams to on-demand content. The course is free to registered participants, but donations to help cover the course cost are welcomed. To register, visit aquariumofpacific.org/events/info/aquatic_academy or call the Aquarium at (562) 590-3100.
The Aquarium fosters lifelong learning and dialogue on complex and pressing issues related to the ocean and environment through its Aquatic Academy. This program offers short series of courses for adults that bring together experts in science, business, conservation, policy, and academia to share their knowledge and experiences with attendees.
The Aquarium typically holds two Aquatic Academy sessions each year in spring and fall, each with a series of evening classes in which attendees hear presentations and panel discussions from scientists and other experts. Participants get in-depth information about timely environmental topics and data and interpretation from the speakers. Previous Aquatic Academy courses have covered genetically modified organisms (GMOs), ocean exploration, integrating art and science to tell stories about the environment, extreme climate-related events, and other ocean and environmental issues.