Outdoor Classrooms

Planting the seeds of change 

When you think of a classroom, you probably imagine a room inside your school building with windows, lights, shutters, desks, posters… maybe some boxes, and a chalk or computer board.

Now, imagine if you could hold most of your classes outdoors. Imagine if you could design your own dream classroom! What would it look like?

The children from three lucky schools in Bahrain got to do exactly that – design their own outdoor classrooms! They were chosen to participate in an outdoor classroom project created by a UK company, Equator Connect, and Bahrain-based company TalentFreeFlow, and supported by Bahrain’s government.

The students had to transform a place in their school into an outdoor classroom. During the course of three weeks, they developed ideas and created 3D models of their inventions. They asked questions. How to avoid the unbearable heat of summer? How to attract wildlife? How to grow plants when there is no nutrient-rich soil? How to make learning fun and exciting? And they came up with some amazing answers.

Take a look at their great green inventions!

Al Daih Girls School

The Rainwater Perfume Garden

The Al Daih girls wanted their outdoor classroom to be really fun – not only a place where you study but also a place where you play during breaks! 

They transformed their school’s courtyard into a research centre for converting flowers into perfume! 

Here is how:

Um Salama School For Girls

Fun For Life Garden

Ahmed Al Omran School for Boys

Light and Sound Garden

The Ahmed Al Omran boys love science and innovation, so they designed their outdoor classroom as an underground creative workshop for growing plants and running some pretty amazing science experiments.

Science Experiments

The boys knew that water is a carrier; it carries electricity. Can water carry emotion? Scientists in Japan claimed that if you subject water to different types of emotions, it would impact its quality. Is this true? How can we prove it? The boys had an idea… There will be two gardens underground: a ‘silent garden’ and a ‘music garden’. The plants in the silent garden will have no music, while the plants in the music garden will be ‘listening’ to wind chimes. Will the relaxing sounds of chimes encourage plants’ growth? Will the music garden grow faster than the silent one?

“No matter how crazy your idea, find a plan, make it happen” – Mohsen, student, interested in computers and IT.

We look forward to hearing about their discoveries!

For further information about the outdoor classroom projects and Bahrain's environmental programmes, visit www.eqc.london, www.talentfreeflow.com, and http://bnature.info,