SYSTEM ERDE is being funded by the special program "Geo-technologies" by the BMBF (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research) and is being advised and evaluated by a scientific advisory committee with representatives from earth science research institutes and museums as well as researchers in didactics.

Research in earth science is integrative and it is concerned with scientific aspects of the earth as a system. In spite of its significance, current geo-scientific knowledge has played an insignificant role in schools and the public to date. At school such problems are at most dealt with in their specific subjects. A coherent, all-embracing instruction of basic science knowledge which results in an overall understanding of the Earth's system does not exist up to now.

Main aspects:

• The subject: The Earth as an overall system
• The aim: Critical discussion of current problems of the earth as a system
• The way: Earth systems education in the context of scientific literacy