What is climate and climate changes?

How teenagers relate to and understand these terms

Authors

  • Anne Birkeland Naturhistorisk museum, University of Oslo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5617/nm.9892

Abstract

In 2017 the Natural History Museum in Oslo started work on a new building that should house exhibitions and arrangements about both natural and manmade climate changes, and about how climate changes can influence both nature and our societies. We wanted young people to be an important target group. In this paper, we describe and discuss the method we developed to learn about the everyday understanding youth has of these terms. Students from two secondary schools in Oslo took part in the investigation. We learned that there is a wide range in the understanding of the terms climate and climate change. Some have a precise and advanced understanding, while others use the words weather, climate, climate change, pollution, littering, destruction of nature and environment interchangeably. These findings have largely affected the design and content of our exhibition.

Author Biography

Anne Birkeland, Naturhistorisk museum, University of Oslo

Førstelektor

Published

2022-10-13

Issue

Section

Projects