The National Climate Campaign empowers underserved communities across Scotland with climate change knowledge
Dynamic Earth have delivered a packed programme of events and experiences exploring climate change including the delivery of STEM kits to a local children’s hospital, as part of a National Climate Campaign uniting Scotland’s Science Centres.
The kits, designed for young people, contain a variety of activities and experiments focusing on earth and environmental sciences, with connections to climate change and marine environments.
These boxes give young people the chance to explore connections between ocean depth and pressure, experience augmented reality colouring-in, build their own rope and more, bringing science directly to them wherever they are.
Alongside their STEM kit distribution, Dynamic Earth delivered a series of in-person events and digital programmes reaching over seven thousand people as part of a campaign, building on the legacy of COP26 alongside Scotland’s other science centres.
The centre has been running climate change workshops with community audiences and family learning activities with local primary schools, reaching groups including the Edinburgh Young Carers Project Care for Carers and the Citadel Youth Centre.
Brought together by Glasgow Science Centre, the centres have joined forces to inform, inspire and empower a diverse audience to tackle the climate crisis and ensure the discussion on climate change remains open.
Working together to further climate science education in their communities, the National Climate Campaign saw each centre deliver a coordinated and interactive campaign of over 89 events, reaching over 13,000 members of underserved and underrepresented audiences by the end of March 2022.
The programme strived to make science more relatable and helps learners build up their science skills to understand the world around them.
Elsewhere in Scotland, Glasgow Science Centre have been hosting weekly community visits and film screenings, shining a light on the importance of science in the community and engaging with groups who are unlikely to visit Glasgow Science Centre regularly and can be most affected by climate change and its effect on lifestyle.
In total Glasgow Science Centre have facilitated 16 community group visits this year to the Science Centre, including visitors from Glasgow Disability Alliance, Yorkhill Green Space and African Challenge Scotland.
They have engaged 374 people who may have not visited the centre before, while also offering 3,000 primary school pupils in remote, rural and deprived areas access to their online interactive ‘Learning Labs’.
A highlight from Aberdeen Science Centre’s 20-event programme was last month’s Supper and Science Evening, where families came together to cook an evening meal at Northfield Academy.
While the meal was cooking, Science Centre staff ran a series of climate-themed workshop activities, including one where they recreated an oil spill with feathers and soap, to give the children some hands-on climate science experience.
In Dundee, the team created 150 climate-themed community kits for young people, containing a mini solar-powered windmill as well as other items to show how earth and environmental sciences connect to climate change and marine environments, while also engaging over 1,000 primary school pupils in activities during COP26 Schools Week.
Eilidh Massie, Marketing Director at Dynamic Earth said: “It is so important for people to not only learn about our amazing planet, but also to understand that the Earth’s climate system is something we have taken for granted for too long.
“At Dynamic Earth we’re committed to reminding people, young and old, that we need to act now before the damage is irreversible.
“It has been a fantastic opportunity to work collectively with Scotland’s Science Centres as part of the National Climate Campaign to further these messages.”
Stephen Breslin, CEO of the Glasgow Science Centre said: “We set up the National Climate Campaign to ensure that there is a legacy of climate engagement left behind after COP26.
“We hope that by providing communities across Scotland with our knowledge and resources, we can act as a magnet for climate engagement and help empower young people to make considered decisions and learn what climate change means for them.”
Environment Minister, Mairi McAllan said: “Young people have been among the strongest voices calling for urgent global action to address climate change.
“This campaign will make sure that young people in communities across Scotland continue to play a key role in our journey to becoming a net zero nation, delivering a lasting legacy for COP26, and making their voices heard loud and clear.”
For more information on the National Climate Campaign and Scottish Science Centre’s climate change education programming visit:
https://www.glasgowsciencecentre.org/discover/our-world-our-impact