By implementing the project our main goal was that STEM knowledge becomes more attractive and more utilized by the pupils in primary schools in Finland thanks to the implementation of the VR journey, a role-play-oriented educational game, and a European VR experience from Lapland. We recognised that the answer to the most urgent challenges of our times, which will become particularly burning for the younger generation, as climate change and loss of biodiversity, often lies in the development and use of STEM knowledge. By providing the VR journey, a reality-based educational set introducing the new media into the classroom and educational games to the pupils, we wanted the youth to get excited by turning to STEM as a resource they can reach to find solutions. Immersing into the VR universe, pupils will be able to get a more personal experience. Living in European cities we often do not realize the urgency of climate action since the challenges are mostly visible on the peripheries. By promoting digital tools and non-formal ways of education in school systems we wanted to open doors to a wider range of experiences for the youth that can have an effect on their motivation and curiosity in finding solutions through the STEM approach.
We applied for the project as a response to the environmental and climate change challenges that we as humans are faced with nowadays. We are working towards raising awareness about the urgency of the green transition. At the same time, we are aware of the fact that changes are happening quickly and we are being challenged by the need to find new answers, new ways for us humans to interact with the environment and be resilient and open for innovative, bold approaches. We saw the need for producing educational material based on the concept of climate empathy that has a potential to foster more interest in STEM subjects in the students. We had a very good experience working with the Biosphere VR in Denmark when testing it at schools. It made use of the new VR medium in a practical way, getting the students to feel climate change instead of just intellectualizing it. We wanted to reach more international audiences, and strengthen our capacities by working with international partners to produce high-quality innovative deliverables. With JYU we had a chance of making something that we felt must be explored in a broader, European setting.