THE CENTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION AT THE PALEONTOLOGICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTION

The Center for Climate Change Education at the Paleontological Research Institution has launched! PRI has long provided climate change education through workshops, online content, data, videos, exhibits, and programs at the Museum of the Earth and Cayuga Nature Center.

The Center not only advances PRI's educational mission but also benefits its local partners by facilitating collaborative initiatives and broader impacts on grants in Central New York.

The Center advances climate change education that is action-oriented and helps people understand the origins, causes, and urgency of modern climate change. It includes a focus on how to act across scales from the personal to the global to address the climate emergency and engages educators and learners in those actions.

Key components include educator workshops for effective instruction on climate change. The Center also develops and maintains climate and energy exhibits at the Museum of the Earth; the Cayuga Nature Center; and online.

Programs at our venues offer hands-on learning experiences for students. Online seminars like Science in the Virtual Pub extend educational outreach.

The Center contributes nationally through initiatives like the NOAA BWET-funded Watershed of Trees curriculum. It also produces educational materials such as the Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change, YouTube videos, and K-12 lesson plans available on PRI’s Earth@Home website.

Additionally, the Center manages climate and weather data and is preparing for the Cayuga Climate Change Observatory.

The Center at PRI emphasizes collaboration, partnering closely with local organizations like Cornell University, which contributes data from weather stations and soil moisture sensors. Collaborations extend to groups such as the Community Science Institute, Discover Cayuga Lake, Shoals Marine Lab, and community entities like the Ithaca Children’s Garden, Sciencenter, Tompkins County Public Library, and local schools. These partnerships enrich educational initiatives and broaden the reach of climate change education efforts in Central New York.

Moreover, the Center partners with others focused on climate change, including the Climate & Resilience Education Task Force; Ithaca’s Connected Learning Ecosystem; the Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative; and the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network.