Protect the Planet
Chemistry Week 2021
Protect the Planet – a project developed for Dundee City Council Primary Schools for Chemistry Week 2021 – aimed to increase primary school pupils’ understanding of the fundamental role of science in climate change and the role it can play in finding future climate change solutions.
By Catherine Christie
One of my initial tasks when taking up post as RAiSE (Raising Aspirations in Science Education), Primary Science Development Officer (PSDO) for Dundee City Council in the lead up to COP26 was supporting schools to identify and deliver high-quality projects for climate change education.
We considered whether primary aged children (age 8–12) understand the central and very important link between science and climate change. They may have heard of 'carbon' and 'CO2' but did they understand what these terms meant?
We discussed this with teachers and identified a need to help children to make that link, and appreciate just how important science is, in climate change.
We developed a resource pack for teachers and pupils based around a children’s book, called 'Protect the Planet' by Jess French. The pack contained a range of learning activities in literacy and science, together with some basic information on careers in environmental science. We knew that to engage and impact our learners we had to bring the science to life through practical demonstrations and investigations. However, we also knew that some primary teachers lacked confidence and were unsure where to start. Primary schools often had a limited range of science equipment and this could be a barrier to delivering the science demonstrations.
The Royal Society of Chemistry’s Chemistry Week Fund allowed us to develop science resource boxes which would enable teachers to deliver demonstrations and conduct investigations with their pupils.
The project pack included primary science investigations from the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Steps into Science website.
Resource boxes, containing equipment for the investigations, were prepared and sample risk assessments were provided. Ten schools signed up for the project and attended a professional learning event to discuss and practice the demonstrations, resources, and health and safety considerations.
More than 300 pupils benefitted from the resource boxes. These included mainstream classes as well as nurture groups, groups of children with Additional Support Needs, and a small group of children at an offsite education facility for children who have disengaged from full-time mainstream education.
As well as increasing children’s understanding of climate change and the crucial role of science within it, we hope that the Chemistry Week project will lead to more practical science, for more children, in the future.
Before applying for funding, we met with the Royal Society of Chemistry’s East of Scotland Educational Coordinator, Laura-Alexandra Smith, who was extremely helpful. We would like to thank her for her support and for her attendance at the launch event for teachers.
Many education officers and teachers within Dundee City Council contributed to the project including colleagues in literacy, where we were able to make cross curricular links. We are also grateful to pedagogy colleagues, procurement and finance colleagues and our Primary Science Technician for supporting the development of the resource boxes. Risk assessments were developed with, and streamlined by, Dundee City Council Senior Education Health and Safety Officer and we are also grateful to SSERC for health and safety advice. Thanks too, to our colleagues in the RAiSE network for their advice on science materials and to the teachers in the newly formed Dundee Primary STEM Network who took the project forward and delivered it to their pupils. Lastly, we are very grateful to the RSC and their Outreach Fund and especially to Dr Geri Kitley for her support. Thank you!
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Through the Fund we enable members, individuals and organisation to run chemistry-based engagement activities for families, members of the public and youth audiences in and out of schools. We are especially interested in supporting projects which aim to engage under-represented audiences in their activities as well as projects themed around sustainability.
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