Lights on, the curtain raises. In the stage, Dr. Maria, marine scientist, and her assistant Guy stands next to the ocean (Fig. 1). Well, it is more like a piece of sea, but there they are with their white coats looking at the pile of plastic garbage that ruins the view. Dr. María and assistant Guy on stage. Author Ana Fernández. In front of them, tens of eyes stare at the scene anxiously. A bunch of children between 3 and 7 yr old struggle with themselves while deciding if obey the teacher and remain silently seated, or follow their curiosity and move closer to those two weird persons and their funny rubbish pile. And then, the show begins!! That is how our puppet show started, every one of the seven times we performed it in schools of Vigo (NW Spain), thanks to the funding from the first ASLO Global Outreach Initiative. I cannot say which moment of the show I love the most. Maybe when Plastikator, the plastic garbage pile, flies over the children. He malevolently laughs and promises bad consequences for marine creatures. At that moment, there is a mix of terrified children, surprised smiling faces or even aggressive behavior, because Plastikator is a monster, a terrible monster. Or maybe the sweet moment when psychedelic music sounds and plankton puppets show up on the stage, one by one swimming around (Fig. 2). At that point, all children are captured by the story; you can see their surprise faces and hear the admiration exclamations. Ok planktologist, let's face it, they love the turtle and the dolphin, of course, they do. But Planki and Tonki, our plankton main characters are different and so cool that kids get attached to them too. So imagine when Plastikator attacks them all, children just want to jump and save them, while screaming run! run! Dr. María and assistant Guy surrounded by plankton. Author Ana Fernández. And the finale!! So dramatic!! At this point, two things are clear, both for the scientist in the stage and for the children in the audience. First, Plastikator and his army of plastics are evil, and all marine organisms are in danger because of them. And second, only humans can solve the problem, so let's do something!! Let's catch the monster!! And here we go, with our secret weapon… The recycling bucket (Fig. 3). You can feel the tension in the public as scientists approach cautiously to the monster, and suddenly, craziness explode, they have it, everybody screams, and finally, FINALLY, the villainous is trapped! Dr. María and assistant Guy fighting Plastikator. Author Rosa. Those were 30 min full of emotions and laughs. But this was not just a puppet show; it was a learning adventure. Using a story we teach children how diverse and precious the marine life is, but also how we humans have turned the ocean in a dangerous place for many creatures. And most important, that we humans have the responsibility of solving the problem because we have created the monster and we are the only ones that can end it. But we go a step forward, and we give them a tool because we show the kids that they can be part of the solution if they recycle the plastic. And just to make this funnier, every one of the children makes their plankton puppet with their own hands, reusing a plastic bottle (Fig. 4). Now they can spread the message, tell the history on their houses and make their families be part of the solution too (Fig. 5). Mission accomplished Dr. Maria and Assistant Guy! Children making their puppet. Plankton puppets using recycled plastic bottles. Thank you very much to the University of Vigo and the Galician Oceanographers Association for their collaboration. Thanks a lot to N. Aranguren for her educational advice, and to G. Bobillo for his incredible work. María Aranguren-Gassis , aranguren@uvigo.es
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Open Access
Jan 1, 2018
Pallavi Lande-Marghade 
