Wrexham MP Sarah Atherton recently visited Xplore! to take part in the science centre’s Operation Earth family activities. Science centres across the country have been hosting events around COP26 to increase public engagement with climate change and environmental issues.
Funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, Operation Earth is a series of events taking place at Science Centres across the UK during and after COP26, the climate conference hosted by the UK in Glasgow.
The families that attended the sessions where able to explore what ice cores can tell us about the world around us, the importance of plant cover in protecting and warming our soil, and how much of an issue ocean acidification is for the life under the water.
Sarah took part in the activities and spoke with the Science Communicators at Xplore! about the importance of engaging young people with environmental issues. Sarah Atherton MP said: “It was a wonderful opportunity to see the engagement that Xplore! is facilitating within the local Wrexham community. It really highlighted the importance of engaging whole families around such a crucial issue for the modern world.
Wrexham is incredibly fortunate to have an amazing resource like Xplore! Science Discovery Centre in the town centre.”
Dawn Pavey, Xplore! Projects Officer said: “As part of the current phase of Operation Earth, science centres involved in the project were asked to engage their local MP. It was fantastic to see Sarah Atherton come along and learn about both the project but also some of the Science Communication that Xplore! is part of.”
The project has allowed families from across north Wales to engage with the Operation Earth project. The series of sessions took place in Queensferry, Caia Park, Holywell, and Xplore!. Each family had the opportunity to discover about and be inspired to act under the themes of biodiversity, clean air, oceans, and climate through interactive activities.
