By Dr. Marisa Khoo KG, INTI International College Penang
The Centre of Excellence for Pre-University Studies (CEPS) INTI International College Penang organized a study trip to the Center of Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS), USM on 16 September, initiated by Dr. Marisa Khoo and co-organized by Cambridge A Levels (CAL) semester 2 and 3 students.
A total of 36 students participated in this trip to get a glimpse into the marine research center and to experience a life of a marine researcher. The group was also accompanied by Mr. Tan Mun Keat and Mr. Chong Rui Jack from CEPS.
The activity started with a quick 30-minute hike from the Penang National Park entrance in Teluk Bahang to CEMACS where Mr. Song Xin and Mr. Jun Yang, members of the CEMACS team, welcomed the group.
Hiking is the perfect getaway to relieve stress after a stressful exam especially for the CAL students who had just completed their mock exam a day before the trip. Despite the hot and humid conditions, students were excited to enjoy the sight of nature along the rainforest trail. After all, this is the first outdoor trip for most of the students since the long pandemic lockdown.
Following a briefing by Dr. Annette Jaya Ram, CEMACS Deputy Director, participants were led to the marine organism culture lab. Students were thrilled to get an up-close encounter with giant starfishes and other marine invertebrates. The visit to the marine invertebrates museum allowed students to discover numerous exquisite specimens. These exhibits serve as reference specimens for regional marine taxonomy studies and species identification.
On the second half of the trip, students participated in a beach pollutants sampling in front of CEMACS to learn about the sources of marine pollution. They were introduced to research techniques used in marine conservation and studies by plotting sand quadrats, filtering through the sands, isolating microplastics and finally identifying the types of microplastics found.
Identifying microplastics from the collected samples 
Let’s pet the sea urchin 
Sound of the ocean…..impressive!
The visit ended with a 5-minute boat ride back to the entrance of Penang National Park. It was indeed a trip full of excitement with a new learning experience.