The Schoolyard Safari lasts approximately half a day. Participation is free for schools. The schools will receive teaching materials in advance. The pupils will be guided in their research by a group of enthusiastic and skilled researchers: a team of ecologists from Wageningen University & Research and a team of social scientists from Utrecht University.

About Schoolyard Safari

The Schoolyard Safari is part of Alle Scholen Verzamelen! Alle Scholen Verzamelen is a special project organised by all the Science Education Hubs throughout the Netherlands. It is a citizen science study aimed specifically at children. This means that university researchers enlist the help of children from across the country to work together to answer a research question. Pupils in years 6 to 8 will collect data simultaneously on one day for a real scientific study.

The first edition of Alle Scholen Verzamelen took place in 2019. The themes so far:

  • 2024 Language detectives – about diversity and multilingualism
  • 2023 Figure it out – about microplastics in clothing
  • 2022 We find – Pupils compare what they consider important with what adults who influence their social environment consider important, and how they act on this.
  • 2021 Water quality – about the water quality of our rivers, streams, canals and ditches
  • 2020 At-home edition due to coronavirus – about the health of water for drinkable rivers
  • 2019 Favourite outdoor play area

Benefits

Participating in the Schoolyard Safari offers pupils several benefits:

  • They discover what science is.
  • They learn what biodiversity is.
  • They develop an inquisitive attitude.

The data collected by the pupils will be used for real scientific research by Wageningen University & Research and Utrecht University.

Scientific breakthroughs in the classroom

The first 50 registrations will receive a book package from the ‘Scientific breakthroughs in the classroom’ series as a gift. The books show how to bring science into primary education through inquiry-based learning. Each book focuses on three scientific themes. Each theme includes a description of the background content and a series of activities. The books also describe step by step how to guide pupils in setting up their own research. They are a source of inspiration for teachers who want to bring science and inquiry-based learning into the classroom.

Registration for the Schoolyard Safari on 22 May 2026 is possible here.