Write a Diary from the Deep

January 13, 2024

Sacre bleu… It’s an underwater city!

In AQUILA’s Undersea Explorer issue we found out all about the fascinating life of undersea explorer extraordinare, Jacques Cousteau! Now’s the time to dive right into another mer-vellous (geddit?!) activity!

YOUR MISSION

In Conshelf II, Jacques Cousteau created a whole underwater settlement with the intention of proving that humans could live safely and sustainably under the sea. For six lucky Oceanauts his wish came true – for the duration of the experiment, anyway. We want you to write a ‘day in the life of an oceanaut’ diary entry!

ACTIVITY SKILLS

Time: 1 hour+

Difficulty: 2/3

YOU WILL NEED:

– Internet access for research*

– Pen

– Paper

– Colouring pencils

*Remember to ask a responsible grown up for permission before going online

GET STARTED

STEP 1:

Find out some information about Jacques Cousteau and the oceanauts that took part in the Conshelf project. Make some bulletpoint notes from your research. You might choose to base your character on a real person from history, or you might prefer to imagine yourself in their place.

STEP 2:

Now you have your character – imagine what a day underwater would be like for them. What do they eat? How do they work? What do they do to relax? How is the day structured? How does one sleep underwater?

STEP 3:

Get writing! Embellish your notes, describing the activities with exciting detail – you’ve got to paint a picture of your underwater city with the words you use.

STEP 4:

Re-read what you have written; check your spelling, punctuation and grammar, and perhaps tweak some of the words of phrases you have used. Editing is a vital part of the writing process (you’re telling me, ed). Will you decorate your diary with beautiful illustrations of stunning sea life?

We want to read your wonderful underwater diaries. Don’t forget to send copies of your completed diary entries to the address on the AQUILAnauts’ page of the AQUILA website, and we’ll share as many as we can.

Did you enjoy this activity? Then you’d love all the facts and activities in AQUILA magazine. Make sure you click here, to subscribe!

Words: Rachel Leadley Illustration: Siiri Väisänen