What do you remember from your science
classes? Film strips? Textbooks? Science Fair Projects? Did I even
have science classes before High School? Yup. That is what I thought.
If you are like me, most likely your passion for science was inspired
early on by experiences outside of school. Although it might not be
the case everywhere, in general I believe we have found much more
effective ways to engage students in science. It is so important to
get kids involved in authentic science projects where they are able
to make meaningful, real-world connections. I was inspired today by
an article on Eureka! Lab,
a feature of Student Science News on societyforscience.org.
Teachers at the Governor's STEM Academy at a Harrisonburg,
Virginia High School purchased weather balloon kits from
Stratostar. They
used these kits to inspire their students in a wide range of concepts
including atmospheric science, chemistry and engineering.
 |
| (source) |
Studying the weather is an
excellent place to start. We experience the weather each day and it
will impact students throughout their adult life. Whether it is an
impending polar vortex or a super storm, weather is an accessible real-life concept. I have
incorporated the NASA S'COOL
program into my 5th grade weather curriculum for several years. This
is a free program that allows students to learn about clouds and
their impact on weather and climate, while contributing data to
scientific research. S'COOL, or Student Cloud Observations On-Line,
teaches educators and students how to observe and identify cloud
types to provide "ground-truth" data for the CERES (Clouds
and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) satellites. The CERES
satellites are gathering data and cloud images from their orbit above
the Earth's surface. This is only one side of the picture. Students
collect and provide data from the ground, to corroborate what is seen
from above, hence: ground truth. In combination you then see the
whole picture. Students can learn a lot from clouds- including how to
predict the weather from them. Once my class has collected data
during a CERES satellite overpass they input it on-line and receive a
report back. S'COOL requests students analyze these reports to see
how their data matches (or doesn't match) the CERES data. It is a
dynamic, authentic process. The coordinator of the project, Dr. Lin H. Chambers,
is
always helpful and at times has even sent the students messages about
their data. Once we noted that it began to hail during an
observation. Lin wrote back a simple "Be careful out there!"
and the kids thought it was great. Knowing that they were sending
their data to a scientist who then communicated back to them
solidified that this was the real deal!
NASA S'COOL certainly isn't the
only project out there to engage students in meteorology and
atmospheric science. Digital weather stations can be great way to
collect weather data and share it with others. Many schools have
weather stations linked to Weather Underground
so they can monitor, collect and share
real-time data. Even something as simple as building a rain gauge can
engage students outside of the classroom. We recently made one out of
a transparent container with our Kindergartners and placed it by the
walkway so they can see it as they leave school for the day. The
kids are excited and inspired to check it each day, and it was
virtually free to build. I repeat...the possibilities are out there!
How do you involve your children
or students in experiential science? Comment below!
Read More
Weather Resources
Old Weather Citizen Science Project (Zooniverse)
Weather Wiz Kids- Activities and Info
from Meteorologist Crystal Wicker
Weather Activities- excellent Lesson Plans from howtosmile.org
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