The Indoor Air Quality Curriculum is an open educational resource designed to bring cutting-edge air quality science into K-12 classrooms.
To empower students with the knowledge and skills to understand, measure, and improve the air they breathe.
Indoor air quality affects every student, every day. We spend approximately 90% of our time indoors, and the quality of that air has profound effects on our health, cognitive function, and well-being. Yet most students never learn about the science of the air around them.
This curriculum bridges that gap by bringing together cutting-edge research on aerosol science, ventilation, filtration, and airborne disease transmission into age-appropriate, standards-aligned lessons that work in real classrooms.
Students learn how air quality affects respiratory health, disease transmission, and overall well-being - knowledge that will serve them throughout their lives.
Air quality provides authentic contexts for teaching chemistry, physics, biology, data science, and engineering - all in a single interdisciplinary topic.
Unlike many environmental topics, students can take immediate action. They can measure their own air, build air purifiers, and advocate for improvements.
Air quality disparities disproportionately affect low-income communities. Teaching this science is an act of environmental justice.
This curriculum is freely available for use, adaptation, and sharing. We believe that quality educational materials should be accessible to all teachers and students, regardless of budget constraints.
Teachers are encouraged to adapt these materials to their local contexts, student needs, and available resources. All we ask is that you share any improvements back with the community.
This curriculum is built on peer-reviewed research in aerosol science, indoor environmental quality, and public health. Key scientific foundations include: