Feeding data into educational programs

Universeum is the national science centre of Sweden and a powerful arena for education and popular education in science, technology and sustainable development. Universeum gives children and adults the knowledge and power to make the earth a better and more sustainable place to live.  Website: https://www.universeum.se/en/  

We are happy to have Universeum on board the SCOREwater project, bringing some of the knowledge gathered within the project towards a broader audience through their tracks and experiences.  

The ‘Water world’ 

Currently Universeum is developing a digital platform called ‘digital Universeum’. The aim of this platform is to deliver good standalone digital experiences that they call ‘worlds’. There is one world in particular that we want to highlight here, the ‘Water world’, since expertise from the SCOREwater team is integrated into this experience.  

The ‘Water world’ is targeted at families with children, it is an experience for the whole family. In order to enter the world you have to take a short quiz that determines your knowledge level before you dive into the so called missions. Each mission helps you in a playful manner to get a better understanding of your relation with water. For example, you can calculate your water footprint and put it into context with how much an elephant can drink. Learn about water quality through a small game of: What can I throw in the toilet?  And get a better understanding of the complexity of the water system through designing the correct routing from the water source to your tap. Of course you can boast your knowledge by taking a final test and plastering your digital certificate all over social media, or on your fridge.  

With this interesting combination between science and gamification the Universeum team is working hard in upholding the quality that they are known for in their physical programs. This however does not mean that no attention goes to physical exhibits, on the contrary. Staying in the realm of water related tracks, a water purification lab (aimed at children aged 11-15) an a track on how to measure water quality (aimed at children aged 14-16) make for a nice trip to the science centre in Göteborg. Next to a broad range of other interesting exhibits. 

Are you reading this as a parent? Keep an eye on Universeum website to see when you can participate in the digital ‘Water world’. It will be available in Swedish and English. 

Update 5-7-2021
Visit the 'water world' on Digital Universeum now at https://digitala.universeum.se/home . For the non-Swedish speaking visitors, you can swich to English through the 'hamburger menu button' in the top right of the screen.

This article was published in the SCOREwater booklet dealing with the second year of the project. Among other things you will find: an update on the Amersfoort, Barcelona and Göteborg case study, links to interesting webinars and (scientific) publications, and many more!  You can request the full publication here: https://bit.ly/Year2Update-internal