Back to School With Planet, Week 7 | Change the World
This is the seventh (and final) installment of our Back to School with Planet series, a weekly update for K-8 students interested in learning more about the science we do with Earth and Space. Learn more about this series here.
Wow, you have had quite an adventure in the past few weeks! 🔎 🛰
From getting a bird’s eye view with Planet’s Dove satellites to building your very own bottle rockets; getting your artworks ready for the art exhibition in Space (by the way, we LOVED your drawings) to playing hide-and-seek with the Mars Opportunity Rover, some of you have even created your own water prism and rainbow journal!
Well done, explorers!
Along our journey, we invited several Planeteers to share their stories with you.
Did you discover some new ideas for “When I grow up, I want to be a _______”?
- 👩🏻✈️ Aeronautical engineer
- 👩🏿🚀 Astronautical engineer
- 👨🏼💻 Machine learning specialist
- 👩🏽🔬 Mars scientist
- 👨🏻🔧 Optical instrumentation engineer
- 👷🏼♀️ Satellite operator
- … other cool ideas?
In last week’s activity, we asked you to try your hand at change observation, by taking a closer look at the environment around you.
What did you learn from your experiment?
🍁 How did something in nature change? Maybe a plant from your garden, or the size of the mud puddles at a nearby park?
🏡 How did something at home change? Maybe the temperature in your room, or your your dog or cat?
The next time you go on a walk around your neighborhood, pay close attention to your surroundings. Notice how the leaves are changing colors, or if the weather is getting cold enough that you have to pull jackets out of your storage boxes.
Were you surprised to see how much (or how little) something changes from day to day? When you share your observations with your family, what changes did they notice? 🧐
Zooming out, have you noticed some of the changes happening outside of your immediate environment?
💦 For example, did this summer feel warmer than usual?
🦜 When you are outdoors, have you seen more or less birds and animals in the wild?
🔥 When you speak to other family members, do they talk about “the hurricane season”, “wildfires” or other unusual weather conditions?
Sometimes, it can be difficult to understand the idea of HUGE topics like the hurricanes and climate change, the greenhouse effect, or ocean acidification. The best way to learn is to ask your science teachers or your family about these topics 🤓
At Planet, we believe that if you can see change, you can change the world 🌎Know that there are millions of people out there — from teenagers to grandparents — who are working to figure out the steps we can take to protect our planet, together! 👍🏻
You can learn about their stories from books and movies, too! Here are some ideas to get you started:
🍿 Tomorrow (Age 10+)
Tomorrow is an optimistic documentary about saving the planet, with stories about the innovative ways people have devised to counter climate change, economic inequality, and other critical issues.
You can watch it on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV!
🍿A Beautiful Planet (Age 8+)
A Beautiful Planet is a breathtaking portrait of Earth from space. Made in cooperation with NASA, the film features stunning footage of our magnificent blue planet — and the effects humanity has had on it over time.
You can watch it on Hulu!
🍿Ice Age: The Meltdown (Age 6+)
Manny, Sid, and Diego discover that the ice age is coming to an end, and join everybody for a journey to higher ground. On the trip, they discover that Manny, in fact, is not the last of the woolly mammoths.
You can watch it on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Hulu!
📚It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going (Age 10+)
In It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going, Chelsea Clinton tackles some of the biggest challenges facing our world today, especially for kids. Using data, charts and stories she unpacks challenges related to Poverty, Climate Change, Gender Equality, Health, Endangered Species and more. She also talks about what’s being done to make a difference in each area, particularly by kids and teenagers.
With lots of suggestions and ideas for action, Chelsea Clinton shares her passion for helping others and shows readers that the world belongs to every single one of us, and every one of us counts.
📚The Last Wild (Age 8+)
The Last Wild by Piers Torday
In a world where animals are slowly fading into extinction, twelve-year-old Kester Jaynes feels as if he hardly exists either. He’s been locked away in a home for troubled children and is unable to speak a word. Then one night, a flock of talking pigeons and a bossy cockroach come to help him escape, and he discovers that he can speak — to them. And the animals need him. Only Kester, with the aid of a stubborn, curious girl named Polly, can help them survive.
The animals saved Kester. But can he save them?
📚Winston of Churchill: One Bear’s Battle Against Global Warming (Age 4+)
Winston of Churchill: One Bear’s Battle Against Global Warming by Jean Davies Okimoto
Churchill, Manitoba is the polar bear capital of the world. A smart, fierce, brave bear, Winston of Churchill has noticed that their icy home is slowly melting away.
He explains to the other bears why the ice is melting then, using the stirring words of his famous namesake, rallies the bears to convince humans to save their Arctic home.
👋 Your Turn!
Send us a picture of you with your favorite book or movie, or someone that taught you about how you can help to protect our planet!
Share your findings with your social circles and #backtoschoolwithplanet to see what others are learning.
🔎 Where on Planet Earth?
I have stood on the edge of the Nile River’s floodplain for thousands of years, and I am surrounded by the bustling city of Cairo.
Hint: I am the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Who am I? (Answer)
