Bridging geoscience and education: inquiry-based learning at the Sitia Unesco Global Geopark

Since 2021, the 2nd Laboratory Center for Science (L.C.S.H.) of Heraklion, Greece, has fostered a strategic partnership with the Sitia UNESCO Global Geopark through its annual Summer Schools and specialized teacher training workshops. These workshops are designed to bridge the gap between scientific theory and classroom practice, equipping educators with hands-on skills in Environmental Chemistry and Geoscience. Following the Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE) methodology, the curriculum encourages participants to move beyond rigid textbooks. Teachers formulate and test hypotheses regarding geological processes and environmental shifts through hands-on experiments and simulations. Key activities include: Climate Change Simulations: Exploring atmospheric and environmental impacts, Geoscience & Speleology: Understanding Karst cave formation through hands-on modeling, Hydrogeology: Practical experiments on water filtration and river pollution dynamics. The success of these activities is evidenced by their integration into the Sitia Geopark’s school programs and the "Learning and Teaching about Climate Change" (EDU4clima) project of the University of Crete. This collaborative model demonstrates how Geoparks can serve as dynamic "living laboratories" for sustainable science education.