SwisScope:Home

From SwissExperiment

Environmental Education (EE) program

An important part of the SwissEx project will concern the transfer of scientific knowledge to the public. This will be achieved through, among other, environmental education programs and data dissemination using the WIKI. As there is an intimate connection between knowledge and action, Environmental education (EE) is an appropriate tool to sensitize stakeholders to a sustainable use of natural resources and then to initiate and promote environmentally-conscious behavior on the part of students and citizens.

SwisScope is the name of the SwissEx Environmental Education program. SwisScope is focusing on environmental monitoring including seismology, meteorology/climatology and hydrology. The three main elements of SwisScope are Seismo-at-school, ClimAtscope and Globe Switzerland. SwisScope is also involved in the European Environmental Education project (O3E). O3E wants to build an international (Italy, France and Switzerland) Environmental Education network by sharing environmental monitoring data, experiences and by writing books.

Seismo-at-school

Seismo-at-School is aimed to promote public awareness of major environmental hazards, especially the risk of earthquakes, by installing seismic stations in schools and recording real time seismic activities. The website Seismo-at-school, including not only a rich collection of earthquake data, but a complete bibliography, online courses, movies, various educational materials, and software for data analysis, is a resource center for teaching, learning and research. The first step of Seismo-at-School has been set up successfully. At the present time, 5 seismometers have been implement in Swiss schools involving students from 14 to 18 year old. Moreover, 10 matura works based on earthquakes and wave propagation have been conducted. In May 2009, these students works have been presented during Basecamp event that took place inside Focus-Terra museum in ETH Zürich. We are currently working on the generalization and the development of Seismo-at-School.

Information and contact : anne@sed.ethz.ch , +41 44 633 6773 , www.seismoatschool.ethz.ch

climAtscope

climAtscope is focused on environmental monitoring based on Sensorscope stations. An educational notebook has been designed in conjunction with our partners (Pedagogical school, HES-SO, Swiss Globe project and the Valais administration). The first implementation of climAtscope was done in 2008 within the Dranse catchment in Valais. This first deployment composed of 10 sensing stations has been set up successfully. More than 1200 children, from 6 to 14 years old, have either analyze and compare with SensorScope data or conducted an experiment. Based on the analysis of this pilot project, we are currently working on the generalization (developing an educational notebook for children from 15 to 18 year old, acquiring sensing stations, translating, ...) at national scale of climAtscope.

Information and contact : vincent.luyet@epfl.ch , +41 21 693 27 04 , http://eflum.epfl.ch/climatscope/index.php

GLOBE Switzerland

GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science and education program. GLOBE promotes collaborative environmental research from local to global scales by bringing together students, teachers, scientists and community members from around the world (more than 100 participating nations). GLOBE seeks to teach students inquiry-based research skills through conducting scientific experiments and observations.GLOBE Switzerland is focusing on hydrology, climate/atmosphere, phenomenology, soil and cartography. Currently, more than 100 Swiss schools are participating in the observation of these environmental processes.

Information and contact : hbossert@globe-swiss.ch , +41 22 362 02 62 , http://www.globe-swiss.ch/fr/