Critical Conversations: bridging pathways forward to greater understanding and creative solutions.

Climate Stories

By Swati Piparsania

"Climate Stories is a mobile educational platform designed to foster environmental awareness and responsibility through play-based learning and interactive storytelling for students aged 6-10 in NYC public schools. This project fills a critical gap in public school education by introducing pop-up, interdisciplinary learning that can be integrated into English, Science, and Math curricula. The goal is to break down complex climate concepts—such as sustainable practices, carbon footprints, environmental stewardship, climate migration, disasters, and inequity—into tactile, place-based, and storytelling-driven learning experiences.

The project consists of two distinct components: a mobile structure and climate props. The mobile structure is designed as a three-step stoop, providing students with a space to sit and read, access storage beneath the stoop, and display props as needed. The climate props, inspired by themes such as survival tools, recycling & upcycling, and alternative energy sources, bring stories to life, fostering hands-on learning and interactive engagement.

Community engagement aspect of this project is via creative storytelling that covers multiple climate topics and occurrences. These stories are ethically collected from experiences of children, communities and neighborhood leaders to represent a diversity of voices and experiences to create an expanded understanding is climate crisis.. During the activity, a student volunteer reads the story, facilitated by a teacher as part of their public speaking curriculum, that aids confidence in communication and sharing topics of interest."

A colorful, stepped educational cart featuring interactive models and activities for environmental learning. The cart is made of perforated green and blue panels with a red handle and is on wheels. Various modules on composting, water cycles, and mechanical systems are arranged across three levels, encouraging hands-on engagement.
A digital interface mockup for a website titled
Four young adults pose smiling behind a colorful educational cart in a studio with wooden floors and a white brick wall. The cart displays various interactive modules teaching climate and sustainability topics. One person crouches while the others stand, highlighting a collaborative design project.
Three colorful cubes displayed on a pink background, each with unique textured surfaces and patterns representing different environmental concepts. The designs include spirals, pinwheels, grids, and abstract forms in bright pastel hues, suggesting tactile learning through play.
  • A black-and-white portrait of Swati Piparsania, standing against a plain background, looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression, wearing a light-colored button-up shirt.

    Swati Piparsania

    Swati Piparsania (b. Bhilai, India) is a designer and researcher based in New York City, currently teaching as an Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute in the Department of Industrial Design.…