Climate Change: It’s in Our Hands

Exploring our responses to climate change through an interactive board game.

Climate Change: It’s In Our Hands

Climate Change: It’s In Our Hands is a classroom-based board game which helps children in upper Key Stage 2  explore and discuss the complexities of the global climate emergency and test out possible strategies to mitigate it.

Shall I save the world?”

Over 4 rounds, groups of children invest in actions that impact global temperatures. They recognise that their choices, and the choices of other players, affect the rise of the global temperature and the regularity of extreme weather events.  The game supports children to understand the importance of collective action and acting now for limiting global temperature rise.

“Just do it now!”
“We need to be a team on climate change”

Climate Change: It’s In Our Hands makes the complex topic of climate change accessible, engaging and enjoyable; while empowering children to see climate change not as an important yet distant concept, but one where they can make a difference.

“OMG, we stayed in the cold bit”

“We are surviving!”

“Did you know this could actually work in real-life”

The game is quick and easy to play. The accompanying resources ensure that classroom teachers can easily support the gameplay and discussions around climate change whilst the children have the autonomy to make their own decisions and put them into place in the game.

The game and supporting materials are freely available to download so you can download and print and play it in your classroom.

“This is the best game I’ve ever played!”

ClimateChangeNewYork

Articles about the game

We have written two articles about the game.

The first was in Primary Science and is aimed at ASE members and other primary science teachers. You can download it from here.

The second was a research paper and you can read it here 

Acknowledgements

This game has been produced jointly by environmental scientists and outreach practitioners at Northumbria University and graphic designers at Roots and Wings. The project was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.

A special thanks to the children and teachers at New York Primary School, North Shields, for their enthusiasm and enormous help in co-designing the game.

© Northumbria University 2014-26