Back to School With Planet, Week 7 | Change the World 🌎 🛰
By: Lisa Huang
Tags: Climate Change, Activities For Kids, Sustainability, Education, Satellite Technology

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? 🧐

Apple Fire in Riverside County, California © 2020, Planet Labs Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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: an optimistic documentary about saving the planet

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: a film featuring stunning footage of our magnificent blue planet

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+)

Ice Age The Meltdown: is a comedy-drama adventure story!

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!