Oranssi Lumi: Learning through Atmospheric Events

Mineral dust can travel thousands of kilometers up in the atmosphere from the Saharan desert all the way to Finland, landing through snowfall and freezing rain. Inspired by events like the one that occurred in Finland on 23 February 2021 (Meinander et al., 2022), an initiative is being developed to promote knowledge about aerosol science among schoolchildren through activities in the fields of arts and science.

“Learning through atmospheric events: Citizen science and citizen arts educational material”, is the first Finnish Meteorological Institute-led project, funded by the Kone Foundation aiming at bringing science and arts together in the form of educational materials for different educational levels around the topic of desert dust transportation and deposition, connecting to its climate implications.

The project aims are varied and try to respond to scientific and societal questions and needs: 1) to be better prepared for future citizen science campaigns, by disseminating knowledge and clear sample collection guidelines, adapted for different age groups; 2) highlighting the human and artistic aspects of natural processes and events, therefore, connecting with the emotional side of living in a changing world and environment.
By having citizens contribute and helping scientists understand climate change and atmospheric processes, we also aim to engage society in the process of science-making, building trust in scientific institutions, and raising awareness about climate change. 

The focus of this project is on an exploratory approach carried out by a multidisciplinary team from diverse fields and backgrounds. The outcome is Oranssi Lumi (the name deriving from the orange snow phenomenon), an initiative created within the project, in which the core team, in contact with other researchers and educational professionals, ideates and designs informative, inspiring educational materials through a framework of steps. The core team developed the structure, visual identity, and contents of the educational materials in a series of co-creation workshops, with helpful feedback from a group of educators supporting the project. The direct collaboration with education professionals guarantees that the contents and activities are framed within the Finnish educational curriculum for grades 1-9. The materials will contain scientific knowledge and activities connected to artistic and scientific disciplines inspired by the dust transport and deposition phenomenon. The materials will be available in Finnish, Swedish, and English, and suitable to be used in the context of a classroom or other informal learning environments. More information about the initiative can be found through Oranssi Lumi’s communication channels (IG @oranssi_lumi).

This work was supported by the Kone Foundation through the granted project “Learning through atmospheric events: Citizen science and citizen arts educational material”.

References: Meinander, O. et al. Saharan dust transported and deposited in Finland on 23 February 2021, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-4818, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-4818, 2022.