Eighth graders from Køge Lilleskole have won the top prize in a national climate competition. They received 25,000 Danish kroner for their efforts in the Climate Match initiative.
The students were celebrated at an event held at the Maritime Museum in Helsingør. Their teacher expressed pride in the class's dedication to climate science.
Over 6,000 students from grades 7-10 participated since August. They helped digitize historical ship logs for climate research.
Climate Match is a free game playable on phones or computers. Students transcribed and verified fragments of old maritime records.
One student said the class learned much about climate issues. They valued contributing to real scientific work while competing.
Participants verified more than 1.6 million historical weather observations. Some data came from ship logs over 350 years old.
For centuries, Danish ship captains recorded weather conditions during voyages. Students decoded these handwritten ink entries in the game.
The historical data will aid climate research. Understanding past weather patterns helps predict future climate changes.
Researchers can analyze temperature shifts, wind patterns, and ocean currents using this information.
Five regional prizes of 5,000 kroner each were also awarded. Winning classes came from schools across Denmark's regions.
The competition represents a collaboration between the National Archives and Denmark's Meteorological Institute. The A.P. Møller Foundation provided support.
This initiative shows how citizen science can advance research while engaging young people. Students gained practical experience with historical archives and climate data analysis.