Pupils in Prague 4 measure air quality as part of their teaching
Two primary schools in Prague 4, the Jižní IV primary school and the Filozof primary school, are competing in a new project, within which the schools will receive weather stations and air quality sensors. The aim is to show students what kind of air they breathe, what is the cause of its pollution and how it can be prevented. In short, instead of boring lessons full of one-sided interpretation, the children are involved in the measurement itself, which according to the principals of both schools is more than beneficial.
“Linking real life and learning is the best way to meaningfully teach. Moreover, we are talking here on the transfer of interest in the environment from the school environment to the parent public through their children, which in our opinion is a very important detail, ”said Daniel Kaiser, director of the South IV primary school.
Practical teaching
The weather stations were put into operation at both schools on December 17, and since then the science and physics classes have been a bit more interesting. “During the lessons, students will learn how the whole system works, what dust monitoring can do. He further explains to children what individual parts can cause and what are the possibilities in their eliminationi, ”explains Lukáš Musil, co-founder of Agdata City, which provided the meteoros with the schools. In addition to dust particles, the station also monitors the state of nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide.
The weather station records the results every three minutes, and after just a few days of measurement, schools can clearly say that the air quality in their surroundings varies considerably. “The first measurements showed that there is significantly more dust in the air at the16th elementary school than in the South IV school. Nitric oxide has also been measured more at Philosophical, ”says Musil. At the same time, the results could be expected to be exactly the opposite. ZŠ Jižní IV is much closer to Spořilovská spojka, so the result was expected to be worse. “Why we have measured such results, we cannot say exactly yet, it is necessary that the measurements take place for at least three months, then we can draw some conclusions,” adds Musil.
Dust particles are dangerous
Even due to the pandemic, the number of people suffering from respiratory problems is constantly increasing, many of them are also sensitive to reduced air quality after suffering from the disease. “Our sensors can also detect PM1 dust particles (maximum solids size is 2.5 microns – PM2.5), which can be very dangerous and in larger files can even cause death,Concludes Musil.
Primary schools in Prague 4 monitor the state of the air in their vicinity, pupils perform measurements as part of their teaching
Author: Agdata