Grade 7s step into the year 2050 with UTAS’ The Heat Is On game, learning how communities can adapt and thrive in a changing climate.

Brighton High School’s Grade 7 students recently had the chance to imagine life in 2050, when a team of climate and education experts from the University of Tasmania (UTAS) visited their classrooms. The researchers, part of the Curious Climate Schools program, led an innovative role-playing activity called The Heat Is On – a thought-provoking game designed to help young people explore the challenges and adaptation opportunities of a changing climate.

Set on a fictional island named Adaptania, the game placed students into teams representing diverse communities – thriving cities, farming districts, coastal villages, and tourist destinations. Each group faced a series of climate-related challenges, including bushfires, urban heatwaves, storm surges, flooding rains, and biological threats such as crop diseases and pests that thrive in warmer conditions.

Students were challenged to allocate limited resources and make difficult decisions about how best to prepare and adapt. By blending fun, competition, and collaboration, the activity created an engaging way for students to build an understanding of climate science and community resilience.

Brighton High School Instructional Specialist Erica Hanrahan praised both the students’ enthusiasm and the relevance of the exercise. “The students responded so well to the game, and we hope this work will inspire action within our broader unit, where students will be promoting solutions to a liveability issue that our community faces,” she said.

The activity forms part of a statewide Climate Inquiry Unit developed by Curious Climate Schools. Funded by the Tasmanian Government’s Climate Change Office (ReCFIT), the unit introduces students to climate science and its social impacts while encouraging them to think critically and positively about solutions.

As Tasmania’s students face a future of climate variation, schools like Brighton High are ensuring that climate literacy is embedded in education – and that tomorrow’s generation grow up not only prepared but empowered with the knowledge and adaptive strategies needed to build resilient, thriving communities.