Learning Circular Bio-economy by Hands-on Science Experiments

A paradigm shift towards a new industrial policy aimed at sustainability and innovation is underway in Europe. Circular Economy and Bio-economy are models to rethinks the systems of productionconsumption to create a waste-free future, a paradigm shift towards a new industrial policy aimed at sustainability and innovation. In particular, Bioeconomy comprises those parts of the economy that use renewable biological resources from land and sea - such as crops, forests, fish, animals and micro-organisms - to produce food, materials and energy through innovative technologies. This transition requires a cultural and structural change that can be obtained by aligning the educational programs in order to train skilled people needed to build a sustainable bio-based industry in Europe. As concern secondary schools, a promising way to introduce the Circular Bioeconomy concepts is to link them with some topics addresses by STEM disciplines, within the ministerial educational programs. In the present work, we present a learning pathway, designed for High schools, useful to introduce the basic concepts of the bioeconomy among youngsters and new career opportunities. The designed pathway was developed within the BBI-UrBiofuture project and is composed of lectures and hands-on activities. The lectures are aimed to explain the role of science within the transition from carbon economy towards Circular Bioeconomy. Hands-on activities are practical examples of Circular Bioeconomy linkable to ministerial high school curricula, suitable to be proposed to the middle and high school students. In particular, they are laboratory experiments, demonstrating how to transform some biomasses into new bio-based products. The main objective of these experiments is to show students that the bio-industry sector needs scientific knowledge, critical thinking and creativity.