The UNTWIST project took part in the London Science Museum Family Event Future Explorers in February 2022 aimed at children aged 7+. The aim of the event was to raise awareness to climate change and sustainability while exploring the cutting-edge STEM research currently taking place to help mitigate further changes and how will life change in the next 30 years.
As a project that is studying the impact of climate change related stresses in plants, such as drought and high temperatures, UNTWIST seemed a perfect fit for this activity. To help engage with the children an activity was created where stress balls with different resistances were made that corresponded to the plants’ ability to respond or not to stressful conditions. These were then related to the notions of plant health, yield and ultimately food security for the future. The stress balls were hand-made using balloons with different fillings, such as flour, rice or plasticine which also helped as children immediately recognise the balloons and want to know more about the activity.
We also had the visual aid of the UNTWIST video which explains the aims and overarching theme of the project. We had very positive feedback from the children about the video, and sometimes even had to fight for their attention – a clear sign of an engaging storyline.
Overall, it was a gratifying experience, we had a lot of positive responses from children and parents. From raising awareness about plant health, especially that plants also feel environmental stresses, to the project itself, its aims and presenting Camelina as a sustainable crop.
London Science Museum February2022
Copyright Contact Details: © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London
