CarboSchools library

Activities with this symbol have been produced by CarboSchools

CarboSchools library > Outdoor Hands-on Activities

Weather Forecast at home

Pupils measure and compare local weather trends in urban and countryside areas. They handle easy meteorological instruments, take their own readings and perform data analysis

Download: Description in English (pdf 2.2 MB), English worksheet (openOffice or Excel file), Italian version

Ages tested: 14+
Language: English, Italian
Material: Low cost < 30 euros
Author: Francesca Ugolini, CarboSchools
Topics: data acquisition, weather forecast data

Photosynthesis measurements of plants in the school garden

Pupils enforce their knowledge about photosynthesis by carrying out measurements on leaves with a gas analyser.

Download: Description (Word or pdf)

Ages tested: 15+
Time: 30 min to 1 hr for measurements (repeated over several weeks to obtain time series)
Language: English (Italian version available on request)
Material: specialized
Author: Francesca Ugolini, CarboSchools
Topics: photosynthesis, plants

Photosynthesis, let's measure it!

In this activity, students approach the concepts of plant physiology and have a direct and concrete experience of the gas exchanges occurring in the leaf during photosynthesis. It is supported by professional instruments provided by the research institute.

Download: pdf, 204 kB
Link: Phosynthesis I measure it! (Italian)

Ages tested: 14+
Time: 1 day
Language: English, Italian
Material: specialized
Author: Antonio Raschi, Francesca Ugolini, CarboSchools

The soil breathes

In this activity 3 different parameters of soils will be measured and their effect on gas diffusion analysed: soil respiration, soil moisture and bulk density.

Download: pdf, 428 kB

Ages tested: 14+
Time: 20 minutes for preparation, 30 minutes for the activity
Language: English
Material: specialized
Author: Francesca Ugolini, CarboSchools
Topics: Soil respiration, soil moisture, pH, carbon cycle and storage, decomposition

Natural springs of CO₂ as didactic laboratory

Caution: be very careful with high concentrations of CO₂; they can be very dangerous! It is recommended to never breath air with CO₂ above 0.2% (2000 ppm).

The doline of Bossoleto is a place with high concentration of atmospheric CO₂ (as high as 75% in some place!). Advantages of this doline are that you can make many experiments to show the greenhouse effect due to CO₂ and effects on CO₂ to plants and animals. Description of these experiments can give you ideas for experiments in schools.

Download: pdf, 224 kB

Ages tested: 14+
Time: 30 minutes on the spot.
Language: English
Material: specialized, specially the spot
Author: Antonio Raschi, Francesca Ugolini, CarboSchools
Topics: photosynthesis, gas analyser, plant growing

Atmospheric CO₂ transect from the city to the mountain top

Using a carbon dioxide sensor, pupils investigate atmospheric CO₂ along a transect in their local area

Download: Presentation: pdf 256 kB, Worksheet: Word doc 75 kB

Ages tested: 15+
Time: variable: one or several days excursion during the school year
Language: English
Material: specialized
Author: Anna Font, Josep Anton Morguí, Roger Curcoll, CarboSchools
Topics: transect, meteorology, atmospheric carbon dioxide

Experiment Instructions for Ship Cruises

An opportunity for pupils to discover and learn all about the physics, chemistry and biology of seawater and to develop important scientific skills, all while acquiring a taste for cruise life.

Download: Description (Word 60 kB or pdf 21 kB).
Links: see a movie about one day in Bergen (Norway) in high or low resolution

Ages tested: 15+
Time: 1 day excursion
Language: English
Material: specialized
Author: Ingunn Skjelvan, CarboSchools
Topics: ocean, ship cruises, seawater