In our last workshop for the fourth and fifth graders at the The Campus Laboratory School of Carlow University in 2020 our group taught about the connections between the carbon cycle and natural disasters with climate change the impact that they have on these processes. For the fourth graders, we prepared an activity where they created a mini environment made out of soil and each group of students was assigned a different natural disaster which they mimicked to see the effects that these disasters hold. Using recycled cardboard to create little houses and trees, groups in the hurricane or tornado section shook their containers and the group in the volcano section used a combination of seltzer tablets, baking soda, and vinegar to create a mini “explosion” and see how that impacted their environments.
For the fifth graders, we focused on the carbon cycle and deforestation, looking at how these relate to climate change and how deforestation is resulting in less trees being able to take carbon dioxide out of our atmosphere. Students each drew their own carbon cycle and then added themselves to the carbon cycle seeing how they are part of the planet and how their little actions can lead to large influences.
Even though all the students are remote now, we were still able to have a successful workshop and look forward to seeing the students again in February. If you are interested in joining our group don’t hesitate to join our Slack channel #carlow_campus_lab 🙂
Sustainable Earth 