Madeline Rihner and Shubham Jain recently had the wonderful opportunity to visit Broomhill Infant School to present their SMASH (Sustainable Materials @ Sheffield) outreach activity. The activity was designed to introduce young children (aged 4-7) to the fascinating world of concrete, cement, and sustainability through Minecraft, interactive demonstrations, and music.
Madeline and Shubham’s motivation for participating in these outreach sessions comes from a deep belief that early education plays a crucial role in shaping how future generations perceive the world around them. Shubham describes, “Sustainability and climate change are some of the biggest challenges of our time, and I strongly feel that fostering an awareness of environmentally friendly materials and practices from an early age can help inspire future innovators and scientists. What excites our team most is the opportunity to break down what might seem like complicated scientific concepts into fun, engaging, and accessible experiences that spark curiosity and imagination in young minds.”
During the session, students had the opportunity to learn about what cement is, why it's essential in concrete, and how its production contributes to pollution. Students were also introduced to supplementary cementitious materials, or “cement friends” as they were referred to doing the outreach session, such as ground granulated blast furnace slag, fly ash, pozzolans and calcined clays. These materials (that are typically waste products) have cementing properties that can be used as a partial or complete substitution for traditional Portland cement. Madeline explains, “One way we were able to bring these materials to life was through the 6th comic issue of Green Kid, which I collaborated on last year with Robert McElroy at the University of Lincoln, Julian Lawrence, and Teesside University. Green Kid is a comic series that was created to educate children on the effects of climate change and the work being done to create sustainable alternatives. In the comic issue, four supplementary cementitious materials were brought to life which provided a great visual to students to differentiate materials that look very similar.”
To help the children relate these materials to their own experiences, Madeline prepared and used slides based on Minecraft—a game many of them know and love—as a backdrop. It was fascinating to see how quickly they engaged with the idea that cement doesn’t exist in Minecraft (even though concrete does!) and how that missing piece could help them understand what a binder is and why it’s so important in construction. This led to a hands-on lab demonstration, where we showed how cement acts as a glue to hold materials together—a moment where the kid’s excitement and curiosity truly shined.
Shubham adds, “Music has always been a passion of mine, and I believe it can be a powerful tool for education. One of the memorable moments of the session for me was playing my guitar and singing along with Madeline and children a special song she wrote called ‘the concrete wall’. Watching the children sing along, clap, and stay completely engaged reaffirmed my belief that combining science and creativity can make learning both fun and memorable.”
After the session, the children had so many interesting questions such as: 'What did people use to build houses when cement was not invented?' and 'Since concrete is so hard, how do we break it?' Their curiosity and enthusiasm were incredible, and it was inspiring to see them thinking critically about sustainability and construction at such a young age.
Madeline and Shubham both said that hearing the enthusiastic feedback from the head teacher was also incredibly rewarding. They appreciated how we adapted our approach for different age groups and balanced information with interactive activities. Leaving behind Green Kid comics will hopefully help the children continue exploring sustainability in their own time.
Looking ahead, they are both eager to take this outreach activity to more schools and community groups, building on the idea of using music, storytelling, and hands-on experiments to make sustainability education more engaging. Madeline notes, “Since Minecraft is so familiar to children (and even teens and young adults!) the activity can be easily expanded upon to include more complex ideas, such as how carbon dioxide is emitted during cement production and what other decarbonisation strategies exist for reducing the carbon footprint associated with cement production. We are ready to bring this activity to every classroom we can!”
A huge thank you again to Broomhill Infant School for allowing us to present our activity. We are excited to continue inspiring the next generation of engineers, scientists, and sustainability advocates. Together, we can lay the foundation for a greener tomorrow—one song, one experiment, and one curious mind at a time!”
Madeline and Shubham