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Pop-up museums and mini-golf: Educators explore innovative ways to improve environmental literacy

Ahead of Earth Day on Apr 22, CNA looks at some steps being taken to improve climate and environmental awareness in New York City.

Pop-up museums and mini-golf: Educators explore innovative ways to improve environmental literacy

Climate Museum director Miranda Massie talks to visitors at the pop-up exhibition in downtown Manhattan.

NEW YORK: Educators and political leaders are finding innovative ways to improve environmental education in learning institutions around the world, as the dangers of global warming become increasingly stark.

At the Climate Museum pop-up exhibition in downtown Manhattan, visitors immerse themselves in the climate crisis with interactive displays.

Curators are calling it the United States’ first museum dedicated to climate change.

They hope it will give visitors the knowledge, language and confidence to talk about global warming in a proactive and meaningful way.

“We have a climate silence in American culture and our goal is to accelerate climate dialogue, action, engagement and learning to break that silence,” said the museum's director Miranda Massie.

“People come here, they have an emotional experience, they also learn something, and they take action. And then they carry that forward into the world, and tell other people about it.”

In the museum, intricate mosaics piece together threats to the planet, while colourful exhibits encourage locals and tourists alike to take action.

A central theme is disinformation about the scale of global warming, and who is responsible.

Ms Massie said individual actions have to be coupled with societal shifts, led by governments and the fossil fuel industry.

CLIMATE ANXIETY

Experts warn that many young people are suffering from climate anxiety – heightened levels of fear about the warming planet – and are looking for ways to design a blueprint for a more ecological world.

“Schools are not yet doing a good job, I believe, in helping kids to translate knowledge into action. So the kids are finding other spaces to learn these kinds of skills,” said Professor Oren Pizmony-Levy of Teachers College at Columbia University.

An increasing number of social movement groups, including Fridays for Futures and New York Sunrise, are giving youth a space to get together and take action on climate.

Other organisations like New York City’s Department for Education’s Office for Sustainability are also offering after-school clubs or space for youth to gather and learn about climate and leadership in a non-formal setting.

One such space is the Brooklyn Waterfront Putting Green, an 18-hole mini-golf course dedicated to global warming, where visitors get a fun day out with an educational twist – teeing up a better informed and environmentally literate population.

The Brooklyn Waterfront Putting Green, an 18-hole mini-golf course dedicated to global warming.

Players can get into the swing of one of the planet’s most pressing issues by learning about the very real dangers of climate change, one hole at a time.

Each hole is designed around an environmental theme, such as green infrastructure, animal habitat, energy and emissions.

Many of the site's features were constructed using recycled or repurposed materials, and some profits go directly to environmental charities.

The venue sees more than 600 visitors on Saturdays and Sundays, and welcomed over 20,000 people in total last year.

“Climate change is one of the most complicated problems our society is facing,” said Mr Michael Lampariello, general manager of the putting green.

“But we felt that if we broke up this complicated issue into more fun, playful little topics, it would be easier to digest and easier for the public to understand. We’re really trying to educate as many people as possible about climate change solutions and challenges.”

Source: CNA/dn(fk)

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