Cloudy with a Chance of ideas! ( Piovono idee!): an interactive learning experience on hydrogeological risk and climate change

Abstract

On October 25th 2011 a devastating flood hit the Vara and Magra valleys in Italy and left an unforgettable scratch in the inhabitants’ minds. Cloudy with a Chance of ideas! (Piovono idee!) is an active journey of discovery and training on hydrogeological risk and climate change. Land preservation and safety of people living on it are issues, which we would like to help citizens get perception about, in order to instill awareness on the actions that can be taken towards risk mitigation. Cloudy with a Chance of ideas! stemmed from this belief, and it is the result of a collaborative planning in which primary and secondary school students, living within cities heavily hit by the flood, took actively part. Children were helped by experts and scientists to build an exhibition devoted to hydrogeological risk. Here interactive workspaces, games and educational laboratories, allow visitors explore concepts, phenomena and their consequences on land and inhabitants. Issues are addressed from a daily actions perspective, where everybody might make the difference towards sustainability and trigger good practices on natural hazards risk reduction.