Empowering Future Climate Innovators Through Hands-On STEAM Learning

Empowering Future Climate Innovators Through Hands-On STEAM Learning

CreativeHUT partnered with St Helens Chamber and the Liverpool City Region’s #TogetherToZero initiative to deliver nine immersive STEAM experience days for schools across the region. An ambitious campaign aiming for Net Zero by 2040, fully aligned with local sustainability goals, the program engaged over 1,000 students from seven schools, using hands-on robotics, coding, and problem-solving challenges to demonstrate how young people can become informed, empowered agents of positive climate action.

The Liverpool City Region’s #TogetherToZero campaign is focused on raising awareness around climate change and inspiring future talent to pursue sustainable careers. With support from St Helens Chamber, the initiative recognised the need for engaging, practical education programs to ignite enthusiasm for STEAM subjects and draw attention to local green job pathways. These include roles at companies such as Pilkington and Glass Futures, organisations at the forefront of the region’s industrial sustainability efforts.

9

Experience Days

1000+

Students Inspired

7

Schools

"The kids who struggle to engage and find open-ended problem-solving challenging have been more focused. Kids learn differently, and on days like today you really see it."
— TeacherBeneficiary School

Smiling person in a pink hoodie holding a book with the text 'Must Read!' in a colorful design.

The #TogetherToZero Challenge

The core challenge was to design an educational experience that would spark student interest in STEAM while grounding learning in real-world environmental issues. The project aimed to foster key skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, and communication while ensuring that both primary and secondary school pupils were equally engaged. Additionally, the program needed to shine a spotlight on emerging green careers within the local industrial sector bringing relevance and aspiration into the classroom.

CreativeHUT designed a multi-day STEAM program that combined interactive learning with climate awareness. Each day involved introducing the Net Zero campaign, then themed group activities and practical robotics activities. During the curriculum we provided storytelling and hands-on learning via LEGO® Education Spike Prime which engaged students in an interactive way through design, coding and problem-solving with their peers. The sustainability themes were intentionally embedded to ensure relevance and engagement.

The sessions were delivered by qualified CreativeHUT facilitators, whilst local teachers and representatives from the St Helens Chamber were offered the chance to attend and experience how the experience was delivered to support community building and further advocacy for further buy-in and collaboration in the future. Across the nine experience days, the pupils engaged with robotics workshops, in which they built Spike Prime robots to complete missions based on Net Zero aims (for example, collecting hydrogen fuel cells to bring back to the depot).

The students also developed core STEAM capabilities, through a series of problem-solving tasks, including; engineering LEGO vehicles and exploring forces and motion, programming Sphero robots to navigate a complex maze and working collaboratively to create a large-scale LEGO Earth mosaic, with all three being play-based activities which supported central science concepts and fostered purposeful collaboration and experimentation.

At the end of each day, pupils were asked to reflect on what they had learnt by participating in an 'Innovation Briefing- this involved researching an authentic sustainability challenge in the world and proposing their own ideas to solve this real-world sustainability problem. The student proposals will be showcased at an event we hope will be in July, linking their learning in the classroom to what is going on in the world with climate change.

Map of St Helens Chamber showing locations, including St Helens and G Glass Futures facilities with surrounding areas.

Students and teacher engaging in a fun classroom activity, showcasing teamwork and creativity.

Turning Climate Goals into Classroom Action

Over 1,000 kids from seven schools engaged in the program, leaving with a richer understanding of how STEAM skills can help address global problems like climate change. The initiative demonstrated that hands-on learning can beabel advocates for students to engage—especially with students who don't always succeed using traditional academic approaches.

One teacher stated, "Kids have different learning styles... on days like today you famous kids a great opportunity to exploit their abilities." The sessions built confidence and created collaborations, while making visible the sustainable careers available in the region’s new green economy, by allowing students previews into what their future pathways might look like.

The project delivered a model that is scalable for ongoing STEAM outreach efforts across the Liverpool City Region, with a focus on strong community and business partnerships. The centrepiece of the initiative will be a indoctrination celebration event in July that will showcase students sharing solutions as well as celebrating progress, with the added benefit of reinforcing their role in the region’s climate action objectives.

Group of students celebrating on stage with colorful hats at a community event promoting teamwork and creativity.

The #TogetherToZero project demonstrates the powerful role that STEAM education can play in tackling real-world environmental challenges. By rooting learning in climate action and aligning with local industry, CreativeHUT has helped ignite curiosity, build vital skills, and inspire a new generation of climate-conscious innovators.

Through collaboration with St Helens Chamber and the Liverpool City Region’s Net Zero campaign, this initiative stands as a compelling blueprint for how community-driven, hands-on education can create lasting change for both students and the planet.

”We all felt the project was a complete success, the students from both primary and secondary schools really enjoyed themselves. The trainers were inspiring and engaging and kept the students challenged throughout the session. Students who would not normally work together interacted with each other and had fun”
— AnitaProject Professional

Tell us about your project

Case Studies

Read about some of our other projects

Group portrait of Everton in the Community team holding a jersey, promoting a Digital Skills Lab in Merseyside.

A Digital Skills Lab for Merseyside for Everton in the Community

My Wishlist