Queensland Museum accused of misleading teachers and children about the cause of climate change | Queensland

The Queensland Museum has been accused of misleading teachers and children about the root causes of the climate crisis through a multi-million dollar education partnership with one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies.

Shell’s Queensland Gas Company has sponsored the museum’s Future Makers learning program since 2015 and produces educational materials and runs free professional development courses for teachers.

But a review of climate change program documents by climate advocacy group Comms Declare claimed they ignored the root cause of the climate crisis: the burning of fossil fuels, including gas.

Belinda Noble, founder of Comms Declare, said: “This is climate obstruction disguised as education. We wouldn’t let big tobacco sponsor educational materials – fossil fuel companies should not influence the way children learn about climate.”

The Future Makers Global Warming worksheets and teaching materials, designed for grades 7-10, explain how greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are increasing, causing rapid warming, but the cause of this increase – primarily the burning of fossil fuels – is not explained.

When discussing ocean acidification for 9th and 10th graders, Future Makers “never identifies the burning of fossil fuels as the dominant source” of changes in ocean chemistry, CommsDeclare said.

Students are encouraged to design a carbon capture and storage (CCS) system, which, according to teaching materials, is being developed by “many scientists” to “remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and oceans.”

Climate scientists agree that the best way to combat the climate crisis is to stop burning fossil fuels that release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Comms Declare said the museum told him that since the program began, Shell has contributed $10.25 million in sponsorship for various museum programs, including Future Makers.

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Future Makers materials have been downloaded 400,000 times, the museum said, and Shell’s support has helped provide free professional development in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) education to 1,700 teachers.

Lesley Hughes, climate change scientist and emeritus professor at Macquarie University and advisor to the Climate Council, said she was “appalled” that a fossil fuel company was involved in the science education of young people “who will be the ones to suffer most from their climate-destroying activities”.

Shell has previously been criticized for its long-standing sponsorship of children’s science shows and teacher training at the Questacon national science and technology center in Canberra. This sponsorship ended in 2022 after 37 years.

Dr Eve Mayes, a researcher at Deakin University, studies what she calls “petro-pedagogies” – the influence of fossil fuel philanthropy on teaching.

She said the Future Makers program was one of many examples of fossil fuel companies providing resources for teachers and children.

“There is a conflict of interest here and it needs to be questioned,” she said. “Teachers often struggle to find resources. How does this shape the way climate change is studied?”

The Comms Declare report states: “By omitting fossil fuels from lessons on climate change, these materials undermine students’ understanding of cause and effect.

“Students may know what CO₂ is, but don’t know where it comes from or why reducing the use of fossil fuels is essential to solving climate change. This erodes fundamental climate knowledge.”

The group wants the Queensland Museum to review the documents and remove or rewrite them, and end its association with Shell once the contract ends.

Shell Australia declined to comment.

Guardian Australia asked the Queensland Museum if it would review the program and whether it was appropriate for a fossil fuel company to sponsor educational materials for children about climate change.

The museum defended the program saying it had “delivered hands-on science and technology programs and events, inspiring the next generation of scientists and innovators” and “delivered real-world outcomes for Queensland teachers and students… empowering young people and educators to learn STEM skills essential for Queensland’s future”.

All museum learning resources were consistent with federal and state education curricula and would be revised as new versions were released, a release added.