Project Summaries

Find out what each of the participating science centres and museums are doing as part of Operation Earth 2.5

Catalyst Discovery Centre and Museum, Widnes

On 6th, 7th, 13th and 14th November Catalyst Discovery Centre and Museum, Widnes, will host their ‘Planet Awakens’ workshop. The Earth is changing and scientists are working hard to address many environmental issues. Find out what environmental scientists are working on and practice these scientific skills for yourselves. There will be three zones- Biodiversity, Air and Oceans, and at each zone three activities, so a total of 9 stations with experiments to explore. For further details see our website www.catalyst.org.uk

To celebrate the UK’s role in COP 26 Catalyst are also developing environmental science kits for local families to try at home.

Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh

Dynamic Earth have lots of exciting plans for the next phase of Operation Earth!

Building on the success of the Earthy STEM care packages they distributed during the last phase of the project, they will meet the extra demand from community groups by providing a new set of packages. These will include all the instructions and kit that families need to complete many exciting Operation Earth activities at home and be updated to also engage families with COP26.

To celebrate the location of COP26 right here in Scotland, Dynamic Earth will host a Climate Science Showcase where NERC scientists will get the opportunity to meet families and community groups and share their amazing work. Members of kids club, Dino’s Dynamos, will also get a chance to meet Earthy and be inspired by NERC science in a newly created Operation Earth workshop.

They can’t wait to bring Operation Earth to even more people!

Glasgow Science Centre

As part of Operation Earth 2.5, Glasgow Science centre are welcoming their local communities into their community space during COP26 as it plays host to the Green Zone, or official public engagement area. They will be creating a range of digital resources and experiences to create a path for families to engage with climate scientists and NERC researchers prior to, and during COP26. We are aiming to strip back the jargon and talk to communities about the COP targets, and their hopes for the conference.

National Space Centre

The national Space centre are excited to be part of Operation Earth 2.5. As part of the project we will be running a variety of activities at the centre but also in the city of Leicester in November 2021. The Operation Earth roadshow will be visiting, St Matthews, Belgrave, Braunston and Beaumont Leys. Families across Leicester are encouraged to come and join us after school,  for an hour long programme of activities. As part of our exciting program families can get hands on and take part in our climate change activities, meet Earthy and find out what changes we can all make to help our fragile planet. The end of the week we will be carrying on our exciting set of activities back at the National Space Centre. Here we will continuing and expanding our activities to include guest speakers and a full day of climate change engagement activities, for all the family.

Natural History Museum

During October Half Term, in the run up to COP 26, The Natural History Museum will be running a number of Operation Earth demos and activities out and about in the Museum’s galleries focussing on the themes of climate, biodiversity and clean oceans. Families with children 5-11 can drop in to explore the activities with our science educator and volunteer teams. ‘Earthy’ may also make a special appearance in our exhibition ‘Our Broken Planet: How We Got Here and Ways to Fix It’. For those not able to be in the Museum, we will be broadcasting a special Nature Live Online event with a NERC researcher all about how scientists figure out how some animals that look so different are actually related to each other and what that means to how we understand biodiversity. For more details, watch out updates on our website https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/whats-on.html

In the new year, our Community Engagement team will be working with local partners and audiences to organise a special community opening event where we will be running Operation Earth activities including the interactive show, helping families to build a stronger connection to the natural world and creating advocates for the planet on our doorstep.

Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Oxford University Museum of Natural History will be developing 2 strands of engaging family programming as part of Operation Earth 2.5.

1. We will develop our first in house family show Insects: Beasties or Besties? This will be a fun, interactive show aimed at families with children aged 7-11. Its core message ties-in with the Museum’s current HOPE for the Future project which aims to inspire a lifelong interest in the natural environment and conservation. The show addresses apprehensions people may have about insects by demonstrating the essential part they play in supporting human existence on the planet. Through audience participation with our two protagonists, an insect-hating visitor and a giant talking dung beetle, families will learn the keystone importance of insects in supporting ecosystems, and therefore all life on earth. They will also learn how to support and encourage insect life in their local environment.
2. The Museum is running a fun filled family science fair, Super Science Saturday looking at human impact on the planet, specifically food. Meet researchers to find out what they are working on and try out some of their activities to explore how our food consumption effects the planet. This event coincides with the Museum’s Meat the Future exhibition posing questions about how we source and produce what’s on our dinner plates. This event is for ages 7+.

Techniquest, Cardiff

Techniquest is excited to deliver Operation Earth workshops with an extra environmental science twist to 50 young families over October half term. Both here in our science and discovery centre, and in community venues across South Wales, we want to start a dialogue about our shared environment. Supporting this, we’ve got an environmental science TikTok take over at the start of November. Tune in for interesting facts and fun experiments that you can try at home! As COP26 approaches and climate change is increasingly front and centre in the public eye, we want to use every platform we’ve got to share knowledge about our environment and the things we can all do to make a difference.

Think Tank, Birmingham

Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum will be celebrating its 20-year anniversary at the end of September. The focus of our celebration is to look forward for the next 20 years by looking at how we can support the climate crisis. We will be launching our organisational Climate Pledge; followed by a weekend of activities during COP26 conference in November to discover more about Climate, Biodiversity and Clean Air. To end the programme of engagement will be present at the Gaia Exhibition which is being hosted at Millennium Point in February 2022.

W5, Belfast

W5 will use this fantastic programme to continue ‘firing the spirit of discovery’ which has always been in our mission statement.

This programme brings together many elements of technology and art, from coding to drawing; in order to create fun, appealing activities that will inspire children and their families to engage further in climate science.

The activities will be designed to encourage participation in science and help build science capital with the communities that make up Northern Ireland, increasing aspirations toward climate science, protecting our planet’s biodiversity, and reducing carbon emissions.

Xplore! - Wrexham

Xplore! Science Discovery Centre in Wrexham is excited to be delivering Operation Earth 2.5, promoting the UK’s environmental research and how we can each make a contribution to ensuring the sustainable future of our planet.

During weekends in November, come to our science centre for the Operation Earth family show and interactive activities linked to climate change, biodiversity, clean air and our oceans.  Celebrate and be inspired by COP26, discovering the relevance of environmental science to our everyday lives.

Local community groups, including those participating in family learning or home education, can book 4 hours’ worth of activities, either in one day or over a number of weeks during the winter months, to delve deeper into the work being carried out by The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

Thank you for this opportunity to bring NERC science and researchers to north Wales and our partner groups.