The Earth Museum is excited to win the Low Carbon Solent Sustainability Innovation award from GreenTech South in recognition of our work with Education and Outreach.
Young people entering the workforce in 2040 have not yet started at primary school. These are the generation that will live and make happen the global net zero and digital third industrial revolution. We intend to play our part in helping equip them with the knowledge, values, and skills they will need to thrive. Over the past 3 years we’ve been working with students at Gosport and Fareham Multi Academy Trust and with Isle of Wight Museums and Schools to design and pilot a new global citizen programme for schools. ERDF-funded Emphasis3 and Low Carbon Solent support has enabled the creation of digital resources for classroom and in the field learning. These link globally connected heritage stories found in museums, archives, and the landscape back to people and places as inspiration for examining and taking action as digital global citizens.
Projects include our current pilot, Take Two (UNESCO) Islands.
‘The Earth Museum’s committed vision and supporting actions are exactly in line with UN Sustainability goals to share social value across all parts of our community.’
Presenter of the Award, Clive Bonny of Strategic Management Partners
Starting during Covid lockdown, over 2,000 primary and secondary school students have used The Earth Museum’s interactive digital maps to explore Climate Change, World War 1, Rapa Nui Easter Island, and Isle of Wight history, in support of STEM, social action and geography subjects. Students and teachers are excited by the idea of going one stage further to create their own interactive maps featuring stories which particularly capture the imagination. Create The Earth Museum has been designed as an interactive platform providing just such an opportunity, developed and tested with Solent-based primary and secondary school students. Participants are also keen to translate this learning into action. With support from Low Carbon Solent, The Earth Museum’s Shrink Your Footprint programme is in development. It encourages students to map aspects of their individual and school carbon footprint, setting themselves challenges for reducing their individual and collective impact.
Learning Testimonials
‘From our school’s perspective, The Earth Museum resources have had a significant impact on student engagement and learning. Through virtual tours, videos, images, and interactive maps on their website, our students can explore and research different geological formations, ecosystems, biodiversity, local history and culture, allowing them to engage with the subject matter on a deeper level. The field trip to the Isle of Wight further enhanced their engagement, making the learning process more enjoyable and also building a real-world connection to this project.’
Xin Lu, International Schools Coordinator at Gosport and Fareham MAT
‘ Children at Barton Primary School enjoyed using the Earth Museum resource to explore the world map, uncovering artefacts found on the Isle of Wight, the Uk and wider world. This enabled them to compare life in ancient Britain to ancient Greece and better understand the concept of civilisations. Geography skills were also used when children uploaded their own detailed drawings of Anglo-Saxon artefacts to the Earth Museum platform, using longitude and latitude to show the precise location the artefacts were excavated. The children were delighted to be able to share their published work with their parents online. The Earth Museum brought the History topics to life for the children and engaged them through explorative and practical learning opportunities. It also allowed the children to link life in past times to the local environment they live in.’
Tamsyn Lingard-Lane, Barton Primary School, Newport, Isle of Wight