Shine - Mini climate change musical

Beth Osnes, Shira Dickler, Inside the Greenhouse

This learning activity is a climate change musical for K-12, youth groups or faith organizations. Shine weaves together climate science and performance art into a fun and powerful story, which spans 300 million years of geological time to convey how humanity, energy, and climate are interrelated.

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Notes from our reviewers

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The flexibility built in to the activity allows teachers to take on the entire musical or pick and choose between modules to implement in their classrooms. Watch the trailer (2 min.) and the full performance (22 min.) to get familiar with the project and generate ideas for local application. Beth Osnes (beth.osnes@colorado.edu) is a great resource to support educators who want to put on Shine. The [link https://enactingclimate.org/individual-lessons/ 'enacting climate lessons'] may help teachers implement aspects of this curriculum without having to produce the musical.
This activity allows students to develop and perform a musical about climate change. Students can explore topics such as past climates, the carbon cycle, formation of fossil fuels, photosynthesis, the industrial revolution, modern climate change and solutions to climate change. Comments from expert scientist: Scientific strengths: This is great exercise for both the actors and audience to demonstrate the overall concept of the changing climate from the start of fossil fuel creation to how humans are influencing the carbon cycle. - Connects humans, energy and climate over the past 300 million years - Demonstrates how plants get their energy to grow, what fossil fuels are composed of, explores communal based agricultural processes, what the carbon cycle is and how it can be disrupted
The goal of this project is to create a performance experience for youth around climate change. This activity further works to inspire and equip youth to create local solutions for inclusion in their city's plan for climate resilience. This scripted, modular kinesthetic activity is designed in sections that can be done collectively or independently to engage students in just a particular issue or theme. Each module includes: themes explored, suggested warm up activity, artistic activity (completes with a list of materials needed), description of the movement in that section (along with a link to a video demonstrating that movement), and discussion and research questions Beth Osnes at beth.osnes@colorado.edu, the creator of the performance, will support instructors who want to use this resource. A [link https://enactingclimate.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/full_curriculum.pdf 'separate teacher guide'] was developed by the Enacting Climate group to help teachers navigate Shine through various lessons. Teachers can use these lessons as alternative ways to engage students in embodied learning without putting on an entire musical. It may also help teachers in producing the musical who don't have experience in theater or embodied learning.
The documentation provides detailed instructions for teachers. However, taking on the entire activity (all of the modules) will require a lot of coordination by the educator. Make sure to give enough time and go through the modules and example videos carefully. This performance can be done in a single, intensive day, but is better suited to a 1-2 week time frame. Teachers can also use the Enacting Climate Curriculum to help implement this activity.