Day of Climate funds innovative proposals to bring climate and sustainability curriculum to pK-12…
Day of Climate funds innovative proposals to bring climate and sustainability curriculum to pK-12 classrooms
By Mariah Rawding
Day of Climate, part of the pK-12 Initiative at MIT Open Learning, has awarded over $100,000 in grants to support seven proposals that bring climate change and sustainability to life for pK–12 learners and educators around the world.
This year’s grantees represent a range of departments, labs, and centers across MIT with each grantee proposing creative, hands-on approaches to advancing climate education through both climate literacy and action. From ocean health proposals to sustainable fashion design, these proposals transform complex climate concepts into accessible, empowering learning experiences for learners and educators alike.
“In collaboration with the MIT community, Day of Climate continues to demonstrate how learning environments can evolve into spaces of possibility, sparking curiosity, cultivating hope, and empowering young learners to lead transformational action,” says Claudia Urrea, executive director of the pK-12 Initiative. “This year’s proposals go beyond theory — they connect science, technology, and social impact to help young leaders understand their power to shape a sustainable future.”
Urrea leads the Day of Climate in collaboration with faculty director Christopher Knittel, associate dean for climate and sustainability, professor of applied economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and faculty director of Climate Action Through Education (CATE).
For the second consecutive year, Day of Climate invited members of the MIT community to submit proposals focused on designing interactive climate curricula for learners from elementary through high school.
This year’s proposals reflect MIT’s commitment to experiential and hands-on learning, incorporating proposal-based learning and digital tools like geographic information system (GIS), virtual reality, and climate policy simulators. Several proposals also explore the intersection of climate with urban equity and emotional resilience underscoring the interdisciplinary nature of climate education.
Each Day of Climate grantee will create free and open-access lesson materials, educator guides, and professional development sessions to support widespread use of their curricula, which will be available on MIT Learn. This winter, Day of Climate will host playtests, professional development for educators, and workshops to pressure test the curricula before it’s showcased at the annual Day of Climate event, which will take place in April at the MIT Museum.
The 2025 Day of Climate selected proposals and researchers are:
A “tiny house” model to teach building science
Joshua Paul Maldonado, MIT D-Lab, and Nicolás Maggio, WWB FOVISEE
Around the world, many people live in informal housing that fails to protect against heat, cold, or extreme weather, which is exacerbating both poverty and carbon emissions. This proposal invites learners to step into that global challenge by building a 6x5-foot “tiny house” model, allowing them to physically test weatherization and decarbonization strategies to understand how energy efficiency impacts human comfort and emissions. The model, which is both replicable and portable, teaches high school learners how design and engineering can alleviate housing poverty.
MIT Farm: Seeding Discovery
Aleks Banaś, Kate Brown, and Zachary Rapaport, MIT Architecture, MIT Office of Sustainability, and the Priscilla King Gray (PKG) Center
As climate change threatens global food systems, the next generation must learn to design for sustainability. This proposal invites pK-12 learners to a new teaching greenhouse called the MIT Farm where they will become collaborators in a live research proposal, exploring sustainability across design, construction, and operation phases. This proposal aims to promote systems thinking around food, agriculture, and data literacy, linking research to classroom inquiry.
Data Storytelling for Climate Action
Asenette Ruiz, MIT Introduction to Technology, Engineering, and Science (MITES)
In the face of intensifying climate impacts, communities need tools to understand and advocate for environmental justice. This proposal uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to help learners analyze local environmental data and create digital data stories about climate action. The proposal includes a four-module curriculum that teaches high schoolers how to turn data into direct advocacy, building both technical and civic skills.
Tech for Good meets Climate-Action Curriculum
Eliza Berg, MIT Solve
Protecting ocean ecosystems is one of the planet’s most urgent sustainability challenges, which can find innovative solutions informed by both science and Indigenous knowledge. From kelp farming to sustainable fisheries, this proposal aims to integrate biotechnology and social innovation into curriculum to teach ocean health across grade levels. Partnering with three MIT Solver teams — ABALOBI, Sisters of the Sea, and SOS Biotech — this proposal develops pK-12 lessons rooted in climate entrepreneurship.
Re-Inventing Fashion for the Future
Liza Goldstein, Lemelson-MIT
The global fashion industry is responsible for almost 10% of carbon emissions, but an accessible entry point for young people to reimagine sustainable design. In this proposal, high schoolers learn about the fashion industry’s climate impact through invention education, which means designing eco-friendly textiles, creating sustainable garments, and developing green business models. The curriculum aims to engage underrepresented students in STEM through creativity and design.
The Systems that Shape Climate Change
Lana Cook, MIT Systems Awareness Lab
Climate change is not only an environmental issue but also a complex social and emotional challenge, affecting how people act and feel. Using systems thinking and the En-ROADS climate simulator, this proposal helps students explore how personal emotions and perspectives, individual and collective action, and global policies interact in shaping climate impacts.
Monitoring Urban Environments from Space
Lelia Hampton, Laboratory for Information & Decision Systems
As cities around the world face rising temperatures and unequal climate impacts, satellite data offers a powerful lens for understanding and action. In this proposal, learners use real satellite data to study urban heat and develop stories using data about climate resilience in their own communities with a focus on nature-based solutions. The proposal connects cutting-edge MIT research on remote sensing with classroom-level inquiry into urban climate justice.
Learn more about Day of Climate and upcoming professional development opportunities for educators. Stay tuned for details about the in-person showcase at MIT in Spring 2026.
Day of Climate funds innovative proposals to bring climate and sustainability curriculum to pK-12… was originally published in MIT Open Learning on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.