This week – on 24 January – the world observed the International Day of Education. At EGU, it felt like the perfect time for us to explore the intersection of science and art, and how they can be used in creative ways to educate and inform people regardless of their age and background. I spoke to Heike Jane Zimmermann who is an illustrator and sculptor with a particular passion for eco ...[Read More]
science education
GeoTalk: Creative communication for science education – meet scientific artist Kelly Stanford
GeoTalk interviews usually feature the work of early career researchers, but this month we deviate from the standard format to speak to Kelly Stanford, an artist based in Manchester, UK who focuses on creating works of art that embody scientific concepts in an accessible and aesthetically pleasing manner which can be used to communicate science to the public. Here we talk to her about her career p ...[Read More]
Bringing geoscience into prisons
During the European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna, I caught up with Phil Heron, a Newcastle-born geodynamicist at Durham University, UK. Earlier this year he won an EGU outreach grant to engage young offenders with geoscience subjects and help improve their employability. He tells us how he started working in prisons and shares what we can learn from his experience. How did the proj ...[Read More]
GeoTalk: Sharing geoscience with kids and educators
GeoTalk interviews usually feature the work of early career researchers, but this month we deviate from the standard format to speak to Marina Drndarski, a biology teacher at the primary school Drinka Pavlović in Belgrade, Serbia. Marina has been involved with EGU’s geoscience education activities for more than five years; she is an active contributor to Planet Press articles, bitesize press relea ...[Read More]
A young participant’s experience at the 2018 General Assembly: So much to discover!
Today we welcome probably one of the youngest participants who attended the 2018 General Assembly, Pariphat Promduangsri, a 16-year-old science baccalaureate student at Auguste Renoir high school in Cagnes-sur-mer, France, as our guest blogger. With a deep interest in the natural world and in taking care of the environment, Pariphat was a keen participant at the conference. She gave both oral and ...[Read More]
Malawi High School Teacher’s Workshop on Natural Hazards
In July 2017, Professor Bruce Malamud and Dr Faith Taylor from King’s College London travelled to Mzuzu, Malawi to work in collaboration with Mr James Kushe from Mzuzu University, Malawi. They delivered an EGU funded workshop at Mzuzu University to high school teachers on natural hazards, with major funding provided by EGU, and also supported by Urban ARK and Mzuzu University. Faith and Bruce expl ...[Read More]
GeoEd: A round-up of (geo)educational board games
With the rise of electronic games – those played on computers, consoles and even on mobile phones – you’d be forgiven for thinking the humble board game would be slowly making its way into the history books. Nothing could be further from the truth! Sales of board games are on the up, as are cafes where you can gather to play table-top games of your choice, and board game meet ups: regular gaming g ...[Read More]
GeoTalk: Matt Taylor of ESA’s Rosetta mission
In November 2014, space exploration history was made. Millions of kilometres away, orbiting a piece of ice and rock, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta mission sent its probe Philae to become the first spacecraft to soft-land on a comet. After the tense 7-hour wait that followed the separation from the main orbiter, a tweet confirmed that the little lander had successfully completed the fir ...[Read More]
GeoEd: Planet Press – geoscience news for children
Inspiring children to be interested in the geosciences isn’t always an easy task. While dinosaurs, volcanoes and earthquakes are a sure hook (rightly so!), there is also much more to the Earth, ocean and planetary sciences! Not only that, but new developments happen much more quickly than the lifetime of a textbook, meaning that breaking science is often underreported in the classroom. However, ...[Read More]
GeoEd: GIFT Workshops at the General Assembly – What the 2016 participants can expect
The General Assembly (GA) is not only for researchers but for teachers and educators with an interest in the geosciences also. Every year the Geosciences Information For Teachers (GIFT) is organised by the EGU Committee on Education to bring first class science closer to primary and high school teachers. If you are an educator attending this year’s edition of the GIFT workshop –the topic of which ...[Read More]