[M-IS08] Geopark

[MIS08-P04] Geoscientific Stories and Tours in Taiwan: Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Outreach for Lifelong Education

*Takayuki Ogata¹ (1.Graduate School of Engineering and Science, University of the Ryukyus)

Keywords:geopark, natural park, field excursion, geoscientific tour, lifelong education, Taiwan

Geoscientific stories and tour routes were considered across the entirety of Taiwan Island collaborated with tourism companies from both Taiwan and Japan. The tour routes cover almost all counties of Taiwan where numerous geoscientific sites are dispersed not only within geoparks but also across national parks and other conservation areas. The geoscientific tours were organized into two rounds with a duration of one week per round. The author interpretated various scientific topics through a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary geoscience approach aimed at lifelong education supported by two tour conductors (Taiwanese and Japanese). Tourists evaluated their interest at the geoscientific sites and their level of understanding on a scale of one to five at each stop. The evaluation results indicated that the preference and understanding of each stop depended partly on both quantitative and qualitative experiences gained from visiting geoparks, whereas the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary interpretations along with the diverse tour routes significantly increased interest in the seamlessness of various geoscientific sites.