What does SatSchool offer?

Save time with 12+ hours of ready-made resources to use when conducting Earth Observation outreach in schools
All resources are tailored to the Key Stage 3 / S1-3 curriculum, and were developed with consultation from specialist teachers
A network of other EO ambassadors with experience conducting school visits

12+ hours of freely-available resources and lesson plans to teach Earth Observation topics tailored to the Key Stage 3 / S1-3 curriculum (also applicable to KS4 and 5).
Each module contains lesson ready resources to easily be able to deliver lessons about Earth Observation linked to the school curriculum.
A network of Earth Observation ambassadors available to contact and arrange school visits. School visits can include:
- An assembly-style talk
- Cross-curricular classroom sessions covering a range of Earth Observation-related topics (see Modules page)
- Sessions can run either for a particular class or year group, or as a longer enrichment day of activities
Our Earth Observation ambassadors are currently based in Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool and Cambridge (but this network will hopefully expand!)
A school visit from an Earth Observation ambassador will provide visible a role model for your students, who can open their eyes to environmental sciences and how a wide range of STEM subjects studied at school are relevant for a career in this field!

What does SatSchool teach?

The SatSchool resources include six individual modules, spanning a range of topics in environmental science:

Discover the SatSchool resources on the Modules page

Each SatSchool module contains 2 - 4 hours worth of presentations and interactive activities divided into 30-60 minute session plans.

All modules are structured slightly differently, but contain:

Slides for an introductory presentation
Classroom session plans (each 30-60 minutes), including:
- Interactive ArcGIS StoryMap collection that students can work through on their own screen (computer / tablets / phone) or that can be led through by a presenter on a single larger screen. Each single StoryMap in the collection is estimated to take around 30-60 minutes to work through and complete. Each collection can stand alone or they can be used together to explore and understand the wide range of Earth Observation applications.
- Worksheet print-outs out for students to complete during the sessions (answers provided).
- Interactive web app (Hands on with Data module only) that allows students to run their own experiments with satellite data, including running some basic code.

No specialist software is required for any of the SatSchool resources. Everything can be accessed directly in the browser via the links on the Modules page.
The majority of resources are presented as ArcGIS storymaps, which can be run in any web browser and include a mixture of text, images, video, interactive GIS, mapping and data analysis

As a minimum, a screen / projector is required for SatSchool resources to be presented from the front of a classroom.
If available, students can work through the SatSchool StoryMaps on individual screens (or in pairs/small groups) during the sessions. Computers / laptops / tablets would be most suitable, but the StoryMaps can also be viewed on a smartphone screen.
Worksheets are provided in the documentation folders of each module that can be printed out for students to complete in class or as homework when working through the SatSchool resources.
Certain activities in each of the modules require some additional equipment, such as measuring scales or plastic cups, but these are all listed in the module documentation.