Children Learn About the Climate

Children learn about the consequences of global warming at school. By living more sustainably, we can look forward to a better future. But what does “living sustainably” actually mean? It can be difficult for a child to understand what sustainability is all about and why it’s important for the climate. That’s why we’d like to share some tips on how you can teach your children about the climate at home.

Learning about the climate through play

A fun, interactive energy game has been created especially for children ages 7 to 12: Junior Energy Coach. Through experiments, puzzles, and games, you and your children can learn about the climate and energy over the course of five weeks. Prefer something that lasts just one day? Go on a journey of discovery together at the NEMO science museum in Amsterdam. In NEMO’s interactive exhibition “Energierijk,” children can capture as much energy as possible from light, wind, and water to set all kinds of special objects in motion. This interactive exhibition teaches children how renewable energy works.

Get Creative

Most households still use quite a bit of plastic. To help your family realize just how much plastic you actually use—and to have a fun afternoon of crafts at the same time—you can make your own plastic monsters. Greenpeace offers a special toolkit on its website that makes it very easy to create plastic monsters. While you’re at it, listen to the Plastic Podcast together and teach your kids about the climate at the same time.

Reading Books Together

More and more children’s book authors want to teach children about the climate. Through imaginative stories and by sharing facts about the environment in a fun way, they make learning enjoyable. There are various children’s books available about the climate, including our own children’s book *Sparki and His Journey to Earth*. Sparki, the green alien, travels to Earth and discovers that his planet pays much more attention to renewable energy. He thinks that should be possible on Earth, too.