TupTupTup: SDG Education for Children

Play-based sustainability education for children aged 3-10

TupTupTup helps teachers and parents introduce young children to sustainability, children’s rights, climate action and empathy through free stories, lesson plans, games and experiments. It turns complex global challenges into playful, age-appropriate learning experiences that can be used immediately in classrooms, homes and community settings.

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Overview

Information on this page is provided by the innovator and has not been evaluated by HundrED.

Updated June 2026

Web presence

2016

Established

5

Countries

Students early

Target group

We want education systems to treat sustainability, global citizenship, empathy and social responsibility as core parts of early learning. The change we hope to see is that children are not introduced to the world’s biggest challenges only when they are older, but from the first years of education - in ways that are safe, hopeful, practical and connected to their everyday lives. Through TupTupTup, we want teachers to feel confident talking about climate, rights, equality, peace, biodiversity, responsible consumption and care for others without needing to be experts in every topic. We want children to see themselves not as passive recipients of information, but as curious, caring and capable participants in their communities. Our long-term dream is that every child has access to joyful, age-appropriate education that helps them understand the world, ask questions, cooperate with others and take small meaningful actions for people and the planet.

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

Global challenges such as climate change, inequality, responsible consumption, peace, water scarcity and biodiversity loss are often introduced to children too late, too abstractly or through materials designed for older learners.

At the same time, preschool and early primary teachers increasingly want to talk with children about the world they live in, but many lack practical, age-appropriate and emotionally safe tools. They may not be specialists in sustainability or global citizenship education, and they often do not have time to design their own materials from scratch.

TupTupTup was created to close this gap. We wanted to show that children aged 3-10 can understand fairness, care for nature, cooperation, diversity, rights and responsibility when these themes are introduced through stories, play, movement, art and everyday experience.

The innovation supports adults with ready-to-use, free educational materials that translate the Sustainable Development Goals into child-friendly activities. Its purpose is to make sustainability and global citizenship education a natural part of early learning, not an occasional add-on.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

In practice, TupTupTup is a free educational platform with ready-to-use resources for teachers, parents and educators working with children aged 3-10. The platform includes lesson plans, stories, games, experiments, creative tasks, worksheets, songs, poems, posters, comics, audiobooks and other printable or digital materials.

Educators can choose a topic, Sustainable Development Goal, age group or type of activity, download the materials and use them directly in class or in non-formal education settings. The activities are designed to be simple, playful and low-cost. Most can be implemented with everyday materials and do not require specialist equipment.

A key method is storytelling. Children follow friendly characters who help them explore issues such as water, climate, animals, cities, equality, peace and children’s rights. This makes difficult themes understandable and emotionally safe.

Evidence of use includes website analytics, numbers of resources created and downloaded, workshop documentation, feedback from teachers and partners, and the overall number of children reached through TupTupTup educational projects.

How has it been spreading?

TupTupTup has spread through an open-access digital platform, partnerships with schools and educational institutions, workshops for children, teacher trainings, educational campaigns, newsletters and social media. Because the materials are free and ready to use, teachers and parents can adopt them independently without a long onboarding process.

Over the last years, TupTupTup has grown from a collection of educational materials into a broader model for early sustainability and global citizenship education. The platform now offers over 1,000 free educational scenarios and a wide range of stories, books, audiobooks and practical resources. Educational projects connected with TupTupTup have reached over one million children, and the materials have been used by thousands of educators.

In the next 2-3 years, our goals are to strengthen evidence of impact, expand multilingual resources, develop more materials on climate misinformation and responsible choices, build stronger teacher communities, and support wider international adaptation of the model.

How have you modified or added to your innovation?

TupTupTup has evolved from a Polish educational portal into a broader, multilingual and multi-format learning ecosystem. Over time, we have added new formats such as audiobooks, comics, printable worksheets, interactive activities, educational campaigns, teacher trainings and city-based learning tools.

We have also expanded the thematic scope. The innovation began with sustainability and SDG education and now includes climate education, children’s rights, empathy, civic engagement, responsible consumption, animal protection, diversity, peace, local heritage and resilience.

Recent additions focus on making the materials even more practical for teachers: clearer lesson structures, ready-to-print tools, campaign formats, resources for very young learners and materials that respond to current social and environmental challenges

If I want to try it, what should I do?

Visit TupTupTup.org.pl, choose a topic or SDG, select materials suitable for your children’s age, download the lesson plan and printable resources, and run the activity in class, at home or in a community setting. For partnerships or adaptation, contact Fundacja To Proste.

Implementation steps

Choose a theme or SDG

Start with the children’s age, current classroom topic or local issue. Search TupTupTup by theme, SDG or material type and select one activity, story or lesson plan that fits your group and available time.

Prepare the materials

Download the lesson plan and any printable resources. Check the list of simple materials needed, such as paper, crayons, water, recycled objects or classroom props. Most activities can be prepared in a few minutes.

Begin with a story or question

Introduce the topic through a short story, character, image or open question. Let children share what they already know and connect the topic to their daily lives, school, home or local environment.

Run the playful activity

Use the suggested game, experiment, art task, movement exercise or group activity. The teacher guides the process, encourages questions and helps children explore the topic through action rather than passive listening.

Reflect and take action

End with a short conversation: What did we discover? What can we do differently? Invite children to choose one small action, such as saving water, caring for plants, reducing waste or helping someone.

Share and repeat

Use another TupTupTup activity to build continuity. Teachers can share results with parents, display children’s work, use the materials in school campaigns or adapt the activity to local needs.