| Planet Press (http://www.egu.eu/education/planet-press/) is an EGU educational project that aims to get children (mainly 7–13 year olds), as well as their parents and educators, interested in and engaged with up-to-date scientific research and news.
Planet Press articles are short versions of EGU press releases written in child-friendly language. Because EGU press releases cover research published in the various EGU scientific journals, Planet Press focuses on topics as varied as air pollution, glaciers, climate change, earthquakes, ocean sciences, droughts and floods, or space sciences. The texts are reviewed by both scientists and educators to make sure they are accurate and clear to their target audience. By sharing new and exciting geoscientific research with young kids, we hope to inspire them to develop an interest in the Earth, planetary and space sciences.
In this presentation, we describe how the Planet Press idea came about, how the project is run, and the challenges and lessons learnt since the launch of this educational initiative in 2014.
Planet Press, which has the support of the EGU Committee on Education, is made possible by the work of volunteer scientists and educators who review and translate the texts. We are grateful for the help of Jane Robb, former EGU Educational Fellow, with launching the project. Planet Press is inspired by Space Scoop (http://www.spacescoop.org/), an initiative by UNAWE, the EU-Universe Awareness organisation, that brings astronomy news to children every week. |