Hanna's house : educational material for children, Iceland
WHAT?
Hanna´s house of Hidden Hazards is an educational material for children about hazardous chemicals.
WHY?
At home we use at least a handful of chemicals in our daily life. Some of these are hazardous. International hazard pictograms are used to warn about possible risks, and it is important to realize what danger they are describing. Irritation of the skin, eye damage and serious symptoms because of inhalation are examples of effects if children are exposed to hazardous chemicals. Therefore, it is essential to reach out to children and guide them about the possible risks to prevent accidents. If the chemicals are used in a safe and correct way according to the instructions on the label, there is nothing to worry about.
HOW?
Hanna´s house is an interactive website intended to draw attention to hazardous chemicals in the home. Hanna’s house is a simple and ready-to-use online educational material intended for pupils from approximately 8-12 years old. Hanna is following the day-to-day activities in her home where hazardous chemicals are being used. Children can use the website to go with Hanna through different situations where chemicals are being used and take a guess what the relevant pictogram or danger for each product is. Teachers can use the website in a different way for their students. It contains a guide for the teachers, examples of four different lesson plans and short articles for the students to read.
Hey teacher! Did you know about Hanna’s house?
Look what we’ve got here! A ready-to-use online educational material for children aged 8-12 years, introducing the important 9 hazard pictograms in a fun yet serious way: What are the dangers different chemicals may cause? How can you protect yourself? To ensure safe use of hazardous chemicals, there are international rules about their labelling in the CLP regulation (The Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation, based on the United Nations’ Globally Harmonised System to ensure a high lever of protection of health and the environment, as well as free movement of substances, mixtures and articles).
The 9 pictograms used for the labelling describe 9 dangers a chemical may cause, e.g. flammable, corrosive or acute toxic. This material will help children understand the significance of the different hazards to ensure their safe usage. The educational material includes everything needed to get the kids going, including all the support you need as a teacher or leader of an event. It contains a guide on how to use the material and examples of four different lesson plans as well as short articles for the students to read, to give an understanding of the impacts of chemicals on health and the environment.
The website can be used in different ways:
- Teachers can show the students examples of common household products e.g. toilet cleaner, dishwasher detergent or cleaning product that are labelled with pictograms, introduce the pictograms, explain the danger or risk for health.
- Teachers can use the articles and introduce the pictograms on the website, ask students to read the articles and answer the questions related to them, encouraging students to brainstorm and discuss about chemicals and the articles.
- Hanna´s house can be used as a project for the pupils or guide them through the material.
- A home assignment can be made for the older pupils e.g. to find out if there are products with pictograms in their own homes. Hanna´s House could be part of the teaching of both science and social science. From online lessons to quizzes and animation, the material is versatile, interactive and ready to use. That, together with the guide, means that the teacher do not need to spend much time to prepare. Maybe your organisation wants to use or promote Hanna’s House? Check the TO DO-list!
Hanna´s house is available in the Scandinavian languages and English:
Denmark: hannashus.dk
Finland: hannantalo.fi and svensk.hannantalo.fi
Iceland: honnuhus.is
Norway: hannashus.no
Sweden: hannashus.se
English: english.hannashus.dk