Contents : Arguing About Climate Change ·
Arguing About Climate Change (Museum Exhibit)
In this museum exhibit at the Exploratorium there is a stack of cards with phrases like, “It’s impossible to live a modern life without burning fossil fuels.” and “It’s impossible to live a modern life without burning fossil fuels.” The piece encourages participants to have a discussion with a family member or friend and place the card on a spot on a five point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.
I thought that this artifact was extremely relevant to my research question as it gets to the core issue: that every climate action comes with a tradeoff. People are uncomfortable with those tradeoffs, but determining collectively which tradeoffs are most worthwhile is essential to taking action.
Where a piece like this falls short is that those who engage with it do not necessarily have access to the latest research to determine with evidence which actions are most worthwhile. That’s what makes engaging in this Content Resource Collection feel worthwhile because it will allow me to fill in those knowledge gaps.
I liked this exhibition so much that I made a classroom version to emply during my CRC presentation. I will likely use it with my students in the fall. You can access that resource here.