For this podcast, the main goal was to understand how the iScAPE Living Lab engaged with children through various activities in improving the smart control of air pollution together. Francesco Pilla, coordinator of the iSCAPE project from the University College Dublin, shared some key learnings from how to work together with children, from the planning to setting-up and running of your activities. iSCAPE project has also produced a children’s book called “the air we breathe” that is available online at https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/62191692/the-air-we-breathe

Key learnings

When working with children, remember also to work with the adults! The schools and teachers already have a lot of experience working with children and have shared many insightful lessons with our iSCAPE scientists in shaping their sessions. Remember that children are the solution to air pollution and treat them as collaborators, they are the ones with the important inputs you are looking for! When running your sessions there are many practical tips shared by Francesco on how to create your slides, that should be engaging for your young audience, or how to formulate your tasks, to be short and clear for their full attention.