Italian TU Eindhoven graduate
GIULIA CALECA believes
designers have a social, moral
and ethical responsibility to
society. Her vision on the role of
creatives led to her inclusion in
‘The Challenge’.Power Up! is a board game for primary
schools that teaches children about the
energy transition to renewable sources.causes of climate change; examine the cur-
rent social, legislative and cultural barriers
to the implementation of renewables; and
are asked to take action for or against them.
Confronted with these important decisions,
players are invited to come up with com-
ics that show how to save the world from
climate change.How does it combat the energy crisis? Ener-
gy’s invisible nature leads to a common lack
of understanding of the cause-effect rela-
tionship between individual behaviour and
patterns of energy consumption. Teaching
children about forms of renewable energy in
a fun and interactive way could successfully
challenge the status quo of knowledge and
of prejudices against sustainable energy.How does Power Up! further the cause?
The game features several interactive
probes that investigate how energy can be
harvested from renewable sources. One of
these is Sunny Buddy, which has an antenna
that catches solar rays to power an LED
screen that displays the battery’s charg-
ing rate. The probe engages children and
prompts them to collect as much energy
as possible by trying out different settings,
locations and positions. Furthermore, expe-
riencing how energy can flow from the sun
through a photovoltaic panel makes energy
production a more tangible process.You believe that schools can play a key
role in a greener future? GIULIA CALECA:
If we want to change people’s mindset on
sustainability, we need to start from the very
bottom. Instead of trying to change estab-
lished behaviour, more effort should be put
into stimulating new ways of thinking from
a young age.
How do you propose doing this? It’s
important for children to learn through
experience, and play is an essential element
in building meaningful experiences. This is
why I envision a redesign of the way sustain-
ability is taught in schools, using co-creative
methods to shift from theory- to design-
based learning.
Can you give us an example? Power Up! is a
board game and educational kit for primary
schools that teaches children ten to 12 years
of age about an efficient energy transition to
renewable sources. It provides children with
the means to act against climate change by
tackling real-world problems in their own
ways, eventually becoming the true heroes
and co-designers of the energy transition.
How does it work? The game develops over
three stages: understanding the present,
exploring the alternatives and designing the
future. During the course of the game, pupils
learn about energy and its relation to the
The game is for ten-to-12-year-olds, but
could it work for younger children, too? The
core of the game – active experimentation
with energy through the use of interactive
probes – could be of great benefit to kids
as young as six. Children in the early stages
of development are capable of fully under-
standing complex concepts such as energy
and sustainability. Given that energy is an
intangible entity, a hands-on experiential
approach to learning about the subject is sure
to bring about a deeper understanding of the
underlying concept and to result in a keener
environmental awareness. – WG
giuliacaleca.onlineTHE CHALLENGE 39