We know our members could use some cool STEM projects to do with their patrons and students as we get toward the end of this tough semester. We are celebrating the fun of doing citizen science, and enjoying all sorts of STEM projects from the website SciStarter: Science We Can Do Together.
Check out this cool project on clouds!
“GLOBE Observer is an international citizen science initiative to understand our global environment. Your observations help scientists track changes in clouds in support of climate research. Scientists also use your data to verify NASA satellite data. And by submitting your observations, you can help students of all ages do real scientific research as part of the GLOBE Program. To participate, just download the app, go outside and follow the prompts in the app to observe your environment. Photograph clouds, record sky observations and compare them with NASA satellite images to help scientists understand the sky from above and below.
Want to use GLOBE Observer: Clouds to address dust storms? Head over to this blog post to learn more: https://blog.scistarter.com/2019/07/nasa-globe-observer-needs-your-help-reporting-dust-storms/“
| Presented By | NASA and The GLOBE Program |
|---|---|
| Goal | Help scientists understand the sky from above and below |
| Task | Photograph clouds, record sky observations and share with NASA |
| How-To Video | Check out the how-to video |
|---|
| Ideal Age Group | Families, College, Seniors, Graduate students, Middle school (11 – 13 years), Elementary school (6 – 10 years), High school (14 – 17 years), Adults, |
|---|---|
| Spend the time | Outdoors |
| Ideal Frequency | Every few days |
| Average Time | Five minutes |
| Type of Activity | While fishing, On a walk, run, In snow or rain, At a science center, zoo or aquarium, On a hike, At school, At the beach, |
What else could you do in a library to build on this project? There are a lot of things! Here are a few ideas to get started:
- Put out a display of books on clouds and weather, or some general science books
- Set up an art project to make clouds. Glue cotton balls together, draw pictures, 3D print clouds, make sculptures in mixed media
- Do a matching game, connect names of different types of clouds to their pictures
- Clouds, A Teaching Box; from UCAR Center for Science Education
- Clouds and Weather | Everyday Learning, from PBS
- Cloud Lab Guide for Educators, from PBS
- Educational resources, from the National Weather Service